NAD C389 Integrated Amp $1500: 130×2
(4h, 17 1/8w, 14 1/2d, 130 w/ch, 8 ohms)
In the Feb 2023 newsletter I told you the C389 was imminent. Turns out, they made me a liar by about two months. You can refer to the Feb newsletter for the nuts and bolts.
Finally, we have C389 in the flesh. It’s HERE and it is even BETTER than I dared hope. I’m happy to report that C389 has a significantly bigger kick than its smaller brothers and IS an integrated that can drive some major league speakers.
It is, in fact, the least expensive integrated that I’m delighted to recommend with Brystons, Pans, Amphions etc. Yep, C389 isn’t out of its league with these higher end speakers.
With its UcD amp design C389 exhibits no earmarks of harshness or distortion. THAT isn’t a surprise. It maintains the NAD flavor of being clear, without biting your ears. Yet C389 has more octane under the hood than I expected. It is more than a volume improvement. It provides an improvement in acceleration.
There is a difference between playing to a given volume, vs GRIPPING your speakers with control. Even an NAD C328 for $700 will play almost any speaker to a volume you’d be happy with. But many higher end speakers need a vice grip on them to sound taut and realistic. C389 does much more of THAT than anything less expensive.
C389 is officially up to driving speakers that are thirsty. Some speakers just don’t sound alive or dynamic until you hit ‘em with enough water pressure. C389 will most definitely surpass any integrated in the sub $1500 range.
C389 only has one problem.
Its bigger brother, C399 ($2k, 180×2) is better. It seems A BIT peculiar to me that NAD would make these two units so close in price. C399 has 28% more power in an nCore design, for only $500 more.
Nobody called me from NAD to ask my opinion. I’m predicting that C399 will be cranked up to $2200 or more shortly after I post this newsletter!
McIntosh MI-502 Stereo Power Amp: 500×2
(4 5/16h, 17 1/2w, 21d, 22 lbs)
Perhaps you’ve been lusting for a McIntosh power amp with ginormous power, that doesn’t weigh 100 pounds or cost $7500. Mac has been reading your mind. MI-501 is built in NY and you still get luscious Mac meters.
Mac won’t let us post prices. But have a gander at HTHF’s review.
Enter MI-502. This boy is their new nCore amp built like a battleship. It has single ended and balanced input connections. It has a handful of traditional Mac secret sauce circuits to make it sound warm and run reliably.
*Power Guard
*Sentry Monitor
*Power Control
*Closed loop digital switching with robust power supplies
Suppose you have an old Threshold. Levinson or Krell power amp that’s sputtering a bit. They were sweet for their day, but time has marched on. They ran big and hot- and typically lasted about 20 years. MI-502 would be a massive improvement at less than a massive price. When you consider that you would have paid $3k ish for an old amp like one of these (that equates to $11k today), the MI-502 comes in under half that price. It can be your last power amp. It will deliver more than double the power and run much cooler- both in terms of style and temperature!
Greg Graffin
Vocalist from Bad Religion has a PHD from Cornell in zoology. Who would have thought a punk band singer would be lecturing at UCLA and other universities on scientific topics?!