NAD M10 Master Series Integrated Amplifier Overview
Audio equipment or Hi-Fi equipment - do you feel the difference between the names? Fine! You know exactly what you want to buy. And you certainly have decent acoustics available, which just asks to be revealed to its full potential. The NAD M10 Master Series Integrated Amplifier is ready to play its game in a world of high quality sound and unlimited digital content.
NAD M10: declared specifications
| Серия | Master Series |
| A type | Integrated amplifier |
| Number of channels | 2 |
| Output power (8/4 ohms) | 2x100 W |
| Dynamic power (8/4 ohms) | 160 W / 300 W |
| frequency range | 20-20000 Hz |
| Signal to noise ratio | 90 dB |
| Harmonic Distortion (THD) | <0.03% |
| Input sensitivity | 1 V (for 100 W and 8 ohms) |
| Channel separation | 75 dB |
| Coefficient of damping | > 190 |
| Audio DAC | ESS Saber 32-bit / 384 kHz |
| Input connectors | 1 x S / PDIF (RCA) 1 * Toslink 1 x HDMI (ARC) 1 x LAN (RJ45) 1 Gigabit / s 1 x USB Type A 1 x 3,5mm IR Wireless: Wi-Fi 5GHz, Bluetooth |
| Output connectors | 2 x RCA 2 x RCA (subwoofer) 1 x 3,5mm trigger 2 acoustic pairs |
| Supported audio formats | MQA, DSD, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, WMA-L, ALAC, OPUS |
| Streaming data transfer protocols | Amazon Alexa, Amazon Music, Spotify, TIDAL, Deezer, Qobuz, HDTracks, HighResAudio, Murfie, JUKE, Napster, Slacker Radio, KKBox, Bugs |
| Free internet audio | TuneIn Radio, iHeartRadio, Calm Radio, Radio Paradise |
| Operating system | BluOS |
| Service support | Google Play and Apple App |
| Integration "smart home" | Apple, Crestron, Control4, Lutron |
| Device weight | 5 kg |
| Dimensions | (W x H x D) ** 215 x 100 x 260 mm |
| Price | $ 2500 |
NAD M10: overview
Definitely, the NAD M10 is a Premium class vehicle. This is evidenced even by the quality of packaging - film, ties, clamps. There was an unsettling feeling that the manufacturer had changed its habits of releasing classics to market. This "wow" was clearly not wanted, since the amplifier was chosen from the Master Series line precisely because of the lack of all these special effects of the 21st century.
And the manufacturer did not disappoint us. Chic design, austere style, aluminum chassis. On the black amplifier, we didn't even notice the stylish curves at the corners right away. We got exactly what we saw in the picture in the NAD brand store. No frills. This technique will easily fit into the design of any room, amazing!
On the other hand, I would like to highlight the work of designers separately. A chic display that performs several functions at once. Informs the owner about the state of the system, and allows fine tuning of the amplifier. By the way, the screen is made using TFT technology - it darkens slightly at large viewing angles. But this is a plus, since it is quite informative and does not shine strongly in a darkened room. The manufacturer announced the protection of the display with tempered Gorilla Glass. They did not check, they took our word for it.
NAD M10: connection and first launch
That is why we all love NAD products, so it is for maximum convenience in connecting and configuring equipment. Excellent instructions for the first inclusion - even a preschool child can handle it. This plug is for such and such a function, and you need to connect it like this. And this plug is for another function, and it is connected only in this way. Simple and affordable!
There is such an expression - "in men, toys do not change with age." The NAD M10 amplifier is just one of these toys, which are devoid of age groups. It took us 20 minutes to connect the equipment, and we got bogged down with the settings and testing for almost half a day. What is only the DIRAC service - you can change the curve of all output frequencies. Not to mention the full-fledged work with the Apple App store, in which we found a lot of interesting things.
Benefits of the NAD M10 amplifier
High-quality acoustics sound is the main advantage of our wonderful pre-amplifier. We have come across independent reviews of "experts" who claim that the NAD M10 does not correspond to the Masters series. Guys, we have Dynaudio Excite X32 floor-standing speakers, what about you?
Benefits of the NAD M10:
- Quickly starts up (the system boots up well and the amplifier is ready for multimedia playback).
- Good software to manage the entire system.
- Support for well-known streaming services.
- Remote control from other devices (PC and laptop, phone).
- Full support for all media formats. I even got a licensed MQA, which is rare.
- We were pleased with the availability of demanded wired and wireless interfaces.
- When connected to a TV, there is support for HDMI-CEC - you can control the amplifier with the remote control from the TV.
Disadvantages of the NAD M10
We are bloggers, not an online store, so it makes no sense to hide the flaws. In addition, this is a Premium segment technique, and the shortcomings are as if we are facing another state employee with the inscription “Made in China”. I am glad that all these flaws are not hardware, but software. You should expect the manufacturer to patch them with a firmware update.
Disadvantages of NAD M10:
- There is no remote control included with the amplifier. The control is carried out from a smartphone through the NAD service program.
- The "go to sleep" button is located on the rear panel. A very silly implementation. It is not known what the NAD technologist was thinking when he made this mistake.
- No DLNA.
- Incomprehensible implementation of the search for multimedia files. The problem lies in the mandatory scanning from scratch of all files in the link library to the amplifier. They pointed out the source for 5 thousand files - scanning 5 minutes. Added 5 thousand more files - scanning 10 minutes (since the information is updated from scratch). Sheer stupidity. And this is on a local network with a bandwidth of 1 Gbps.
- There is no built-in phono stage!
In conclusion
Overall, the NAD M10 (Integrated Amplifier) pleased us. If you do not strongly cling to the shortcomings, then I really liked the first acquaintance and the quality of music playback. Honestly, the instruction was opened only 2 times - when connecting and when studying the DIRAC service. Maybe something was not finished. This is relative to our list of shortcomings.
And don't forget that audio is from the Master Series category. That is, it makes no sense to connect budget acoustics to it. The buyer will not see the difference, since the speakers will be the weak link in the entire system.