OK. I have to admit. I badgered them. I was on them regularly- for years! I wasn’t mean spirited. I was more like the yapping dog who wouldn’t shut up. I will admit to being… annoying.

I spoke to the national sales manager at the time, Travis Huff, regularly- and always managed to cry about this at the end of every conversation. I wrote a few letters that I asked him to forward to Greg Stidsen and the NAD designing brass. Travis got pretty worn out with me while I kept beating the drum.

I had been barking at NAD to come out with a more progressive, higher performing amp than its model C-275BEE ($1500, 150×2). There was nothing WRONG with C-275BEE. But it is a more traditional, classic design. It is sorta heavy (35 lbs). It’s an AB design so it runs pretty warm. And while it CAN be bridged, the heat and impedance is somewhat of a concern. NAD still makes C-275BEE and I’m happy to endorse it for the right customer.

Yet we have lots of customers who wanted a higher performance amp than C275BEE.

We have Bryston and McIntosh. But at $6-8k, they’re out of the price range of most of our buyers. I knew if NAD could make the amp I was describing, in its C (Classic) rather than Masters series, it would be a great fit. It would be important to incorporate NAD’s “tricks” of Power Envelope, Soft Clipping and other details to maintain toughness and reliability. NAD was THE company to make the amp I wanted.

Then in 2018, after all my whining, NAD introduced the C-268 power amp ($900, 80×2, or 300w mono). I was very happy they did so. C-268 is light at 17 lbs, runs cool, sounds smooth and loves to be bridged for more horsepower. All good!

But… C-268 wasn’t THE power amp I was champing at the bit for. I wanted it to be a lot more powerful. Yes, C-268s bridged run only $1800 and provide 300×2. That’s terrific. But yep, a lot of customers want MORE.

At a point Travis had moved over to Elac. Elac came out with its DPA-2 power amp. It is a Hypex based amp, $1500, 325w into 4 ohms. Huh?! What the Hades is that? What is the rating into 8 ohms, our industry standard? He didn’t know. They chose to claim it at 4 ohms? Hello! That’s crazy. Who thinks that’s a good idea? Travis reminded me, this (DPA-2) is pretty much the amp you’ve been yelling at me about for 5 years! Maybe.

I told Travis, you’ve gotta get DPA-2 sorted out here. You can’t come to market with an amplifier rated into 4 ohms, and when someone asks you about an apples to apples 8 ohm rating- you have no reply. It just won’t fly.

Whether it was due to me, or a pile of dealers whining about this, Elac did indeed test and rate its DPA-2 at 210×2. Hence Elac delivered the DPA-2 at $1500, 210×2 into 8 ohms, 325 into 4 ohms. Now, that ratio isn’t awe inspiring. It’s actually a little concerning. Clearly the 210×2 rating was at close to clipping power as well. When we got the DPA-2 in… it sounded good, but looked and felt CHEAP. Nonetheless, it really did sound good. Musically, DPA-2 was, and is, nice sounding. We tried them bridged and they ran too hot. I didn’t like that. Regardless, I sold a pile right away for stereo usage. Then Elac raised the price to $1995. WHAT?! Hey guys, it just came out. How can you up the price a third?!

It took about another year, but HOSANAS! NAD introduced the C-298. WOW! This, is an amplifier to LUST for!

It punches like George Foreman. It weighs only 25 lbs. It sounds smooth yet can produce explosive bass. With innovative Eigentakt technology, C-298 never sounds like its at its limit. It’s simply a fabulous amp in all regards. We NOW have an audiophile amp to rival the big boys, at less than half the price. THAT, says Milwaukee all over it!

NAD C-298 Power Amp: $2400 (185×2 or 620w monoblock)

Now In!

(4 3/4h, 17 1/8, 15 1/2d, 25 lbs, THD .005%)

NAD‘s brand new C-298 power amp, landed pre Christmas 2020, under the radar of Covid 19. This magnificent amp is the first on the market with the new Eigentakt design. This technology blends edge of the art detail and big punch, with the smoothest sound of its price point.

It’s bold to say BEST SOUNDING at any price point. There is always room for discussion, which involves opinion and taste. Fair enough.

Yet, there are a few givens that must be considered as we address this topic. For an amp to be state of the art at a price point, it has to be able to check a few boxes.

*It has to be happy with any impedance of any speaker.

This… is a tall order. The vast majority of amps out there simply lose their poise with most speakers. Even if a speaker is rated at 8 ohms, that’s just an average “nominal” rating. In the bass it could dip to an ohm or two in their swing.

*It has to maintain low distortion regardless of load

Many amps sound good at low volume. But as you turn them up and they’re challenged, they can literally scream. A true best of class amp has to be immune to this oscillation. C-298 attains new standards of low distortion. C-298 challenges the best measuring equipment on the market.

*It has to have dynamic contrast that can make a plucked guitar string or highly emotive human voice downright take your breath away.

*It needs to maintain controlled bass response for tight drum skins, stand up basses and the lower register of a piano.

NAD has launched a new power amp with updated technology. NAD’s HybridDigital amps have been better than other D designs for a host of reasons, not the least of which is its use of an analog power supply. C-298 is a cut above- in that it will use NAD’s new Purifi Eigentakt amp technology.

Purifi is a company in Denmark that has brought on a host of engineering talent to revisit all aspects of amplifier design. Purifi has created a new D module technology it has dubbed “Eigentakt.”

NAD has been licensed to manufacture the Eigentakt modules that Purifi has designed. It is the core technology of C-298.

NAD augments the Eigentakt modules in C-298 with some of its own schemes to create uniquely linear performance. Eigentakt (means self clocking) modules are self oscillating ANALOG amplifiers.

IM and THD are virtually unmeasurable. The amplifier is comfortable (Eigentakt is impedance invariant) with any impedance so you can drive the speakers of your choice without regard to its impedance curve. C-298 enjoys state of the art performance in regard to clean clipping without ringing distortion. C-298 will maintain its low levels of distortion all the way up to clipping level. Most amps get rickety and go off the rails at that point. NAD’s Eigentakt implementation will achieve precision and lack typical amplifier artifacts of distortion, whether in midrange grunge or bass overhang/fuzz. Damping factor is high with a rating of 800.

C-298 can be run in stereo (185×2, 8 ohms, 340×2, 4 ohms) or mono = 620w! C-298 runs RCA and XLR inputs. There is an input level control you can use, or bypass.

But ya know what? C-298 is dramatically stronger than 185×2! Well then Mr Smarty, why did they rate it at 185×2?

NAD rates it at 185×2 because it wants to claim the lowest distortion on the planet. Call it good marketing or bad. THAT is what they have chosen to do. Hence at 185×2, C-298’s THD specs at .00017%. That’s right. The distortion spec is right at the limit of the equipment used to measure such things.

If NAD didn’t use the low distortion spec as its standard… if it used .1% like most other companies, the spec would be 275×2! But that’s not NAD. They don’t want to do what everyone else does. NAD wants to differentiate itself from the competition, because their amps are cleaner, quieter, run cooler and are more stable than the other guys.

NAD C-298 will handle a large speaker with a wide array of drivers better than designs of yesteryear. Think of all the big B&Ws, KEFs and other large cabinets with a massive driver counts and complex crossovers. Further, some of those big dogs needed outboard equalizers to make them even more schizophrenic than their passive networks alone.

C-298 stays low in distortion and high on control even with Dr. Frankenstein’s speaker designs.

C-298 has now arrived. We have driven a wide variety of speakers with it. Here are the results.

*The transparency of the amp is remarkable. It peels the grill cloths off your speakers. It depicts details to a greater degree than similarly priced amps. It competes with the biggest and priciest amp out there.

*The noise floor is nil. You can listen to C-298 through high SPL speakers, like Klipsch, and NOT have to eat any hiss or hum.

*Bass control is superb. Even through the devastatingly revealing Bryston towers, C-298 hits hard and tight. There is no hint of hangover. What a great match, by they way!

*Smooth- but loud. Yep, C-298 can run speakers at high volumes without sounding nasty. Try running your old amp at a GOODLY volume and you’ll find, the harder you drive it, the nastier it bites. It is likely that your speakers are even better than you knew- because your amp has been making them sound MEAN as you enjoy them more.

My take is that Eigentakt is more than just the latest thing- although it certainly IS that. NAD’s incorporation of this new technology is highly successful and massive fun!