NAD C368 $1200, 80×2 (or 300×1) Stereo Integrated Amp

My FAVE integrated amp at about $1k is the NAD C368. In fact, if you ask what is the best integrated amp value on the market, I’d have to say C368. Why? It’s because C368 is so good for the money AND provides you an upgrade path for future moves.

C368 can drive literally any speakers on its own. While rated at 80×2, C368 sounds much stronger for a myriad of reasons. First of all, all NADs are built to accommodate complex speaker impedances. Hence C368 will drive any dynamic speaker and stats as well. It has Soft Clipping and PowerDrive, two NAD circuits that allow you to hammer its amps without creating distortion. Most amps blare like a car radio as you near the peaks. Not so with NAD!

I hope you noticed the reference to 300×1 up above. This means you can buy a C368 and run it 80×2 stereo. You can then buy an NAD C268 power amp ($1000, 80×2 stereo or 300w bridged!) right away or down the road. When you put these boys together, you run them BRIDGED. Each amp now produces 300w! Each drives a speaker. So for $2200 you have: An excellent preamp, with Bluetooth & MM, a fine hi-res DAC and 300 watts per channel STEREO- with strong reliability into low impedances.

When you run C368 in stereo, you’ll really like it. I promise. But as good as THAT sounds, when
you add C268 and run BRIDGED, you’ll be thrilled at the level of improvement. To put all this together for only $2200 is crazy.

While C368 has many positive attributes, the most beneficial is its warm, detailed sound. For me, a classical fan first and foremost, C368 shows its stuff with voices, strings & piano most noticeably. The image is broad and refined- an unusual combo for $1200.

NAD just upgraded its integrated amp line to Hybrid Digital technology. NAD switches in the ANALOG domain as opposed to the digital domain. The resulting sound is softer/smoother than amps that switch in the digital domain. C368 and its brothers achieve vanishingly low levels of distortion- .009%. The other guys are typically .05%. The sound is smooth as silk and never appears stressed. If you compare C368 to the rank and file, you’ll find the other guys to be hard edged while C368 is comfortably mellow.

C368 sets new standards of musicality for an integrated for $1200. Whether driving modest speakers or something more revealing like GoldenEars, Klipsches or Magnepans, C368 never sounds like it’s working hard- because it ISN’T!

While rated at 80×2, C368 can jump like Michael Jordan. This leaves the other guys in the weeds! They are lucky to achieve their power ratings and sound downright nasty when approaching their power limits. C368 can drive great speakers to high levels of performance. It can drive A&B speakers where competitors turn to jello and shut off when speakers B are added.

ATTENTION VINYL LOVERS! C368 has a superb MM phono section with precisely accurate RIAA equalization. Phono performance from C368 is conspicuously strong for this strata. NAD pays attention to a vital aspect of playing records. It has a subsonic filter to minimize turntable rumble without stealing bass out of your music. C368 reveals phono with minimal rumble instead of wasting your power amplifying warps. Records are especially more palatable with C368 vs other $1200 integrateds.

C368 has a has a top notch 24/192 DAC with two OPT inputs and two Coax inputs. Any modest CD player or streaming device (like Bluesound or Sonos) will benefit from the improved DAC of C368. If you run a CD player digitally into most integrateds with a DAC, the improvement is subtle. That’s not the case with C368. The on board DAC makes a distinct improvement on CD and a DRAMATIC improvement on Bluesound or Sonos! C368 has Bluetooth.

C368 has two additional aux ins. It features preamp outs in case you want to add a subwoofer or larger power amp. C368 doesn’t have a USB input- no loss! The other guys who waste their money on a funky asynch USB input trade off massive performance in power and smoothness. I’m not a huge headphone listener but I can tell C368 is a cut above in this department too.

As speakers move back and forth, they throw signal back down the throat of the amp in the process. The new NAD amps have no trouble withstanding, and actually gripping the “water pressure” to provide better control and less distortion than ever.

C368 is a welcome tool in our belt. While it can run any speakers respectably on its own, you also have the bridged option going forward. With that in mind, you CAN drive ANY speakers out there. C368 is so good (& with C268 as an option), we might argue, you don’t need to spend more on electronics. Any benefit is so small, that the additional investment should go into your speakers!