• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

NAD Master Series M-51 DAC/preamp

J

JohnVF

Lunatic Member
Banned
I have a new Dac/Preamp on loan, to audition as a potential replacement for my Pioneer SC-27 receiver and Marantz Reference SA-11s2 cd player. The receiver most often is just used as a preamp, and HDMI switcher. The NAD DAC has variable volume control, and can pass and switch an HDMI video signal and decode 2-channel digital over HDMI, so it would basically function the same, in a MUCH smaller box. That, so far, is far superior to it as a DAC. And I can run USB directly into the NAD.

I've been listening for about 45 minutes.

System?
Pioneer Elite BDP-43 as disc transport via HDMI or MacBook Air using decibel and high res files.
NAD M51 pre
Pass Aleph 30 amp
Kef LS-50 monitors. Audioquest cables (balanced between dac and amp) and DFI speaker cables.

First impression? Incredibly clean and precise on redbook. Bass is fantastic, as good as I've heard and very dynamic. Big and open, nice tightly focused soundstage that is at the same time wide and deep.
 
Register to hide this ad
Further listening. This is one of those things I would loan out if somebody I know questioned why I recommend a "source first" approach. CD via HDMI from the Pioneer transport sounds absolutely fantastic on this.

Next up, high-res FLAC from some things I downloaded from HDtracks.
 
Last edited:
High resolution digital test: passed with flying colors.

It switches between sampling rates instantaneously, as an added bonus. No lag, no thinking about it.

Crap, I think I'm sold. Goodbye Pioneer :(. The SC-27 has been, through all the high-end hoo-ha I've been through, my most used gear. But the Kefs, and this, are all about downsizing my bedroom/2nd system. In both complexity and physical dimensions...with the added benefit of better sound.
 
This thing is a chameleon. While many components I've had don't seem to impart much of their own flavor on things, this thing in particular presents recording variance incredibly.

Do not buy this if you want everything to have a hazy warm glow. It will present that..but it won't add that. But wow, it can sound absolutely beautiful on so many different recordings that I've tried so far.

It's extremely detailed and dynamic with no sonic signature at all that I can pinpoint (helps that I'm not using a preamp with it). "The explosive sound of nothing."

The Pioneer BDP-43 makes a nice transport. Which makes me happy, because its relatively small compared to my other disc players around here. And its quiet. And plays BluRays, and DVDs, too so ....less clutter. The BDP-43 plus this dac, in the context of this system, beats the pants off my Marantz Reference SA-11s2. I should try the Marantz as a transport, however....or maybe I shouldn't, as it would be part of the deal needed to acquire the NAD.
 
Last edited:
So up until this moment I've been kind of cable-agnostic, despite having experimented with a few high-dollar examples that I've gotten cheaply used. The switch between the Audioquest Cheetah and Straightwire Crescendo has kind of disturbed me with how much of a difference it made. I had to reposition the speakers to tame the amount of bass coming from the speakers with the Straightwire XLRs.

I don't want to get into a cable debate but this was...interesting.
 
Catcher10 said:
Not many reports on the NAD Master Series around....Thanks for this, sounds like a keeper for you?
Click to expand...

I have a week to figure out what I want to do. It certainly fits my criteria for a DAC, and does what I need out of preamp in this system (video switching, digital source switching, and excellent digital volume control). I can get a good deal on it, and have a bunch of stuff to trade for it that has been made redundant by it, so...yeah, I think I may keep it.

It sounds better than I expected, not that I expected anything bad. Its just that the Pioneer Elite receiver had a nice DAC section in its own right. But this is an order of magnitude better.

I just tried the HDMI switching, switching between cable and Blu-Ray. Yep, switches a video signal, passes on the video to my projector and does a great job with the stereo audio.

Redbook through this is about as good as I've heard. The Redbook competition here is fierce..the EMM Labs CDSA. And it isn't beaten by it, its just different. The CDSA sounding a little more stereotypically analog and, well, "pretty", from an LP perspective. The M51 with more grunt and dynamic impact. Easily the most explosively dynamic digital source I have had. One of the trade-in victims of this will be the Marantz SA-11s2 cd player and after this comparison I certainly will not be sad to see it go. This makes the Marantz sound lazy. But I've always felt it was a little too laid back (one reason for searching for a replacement).

Forget to mention above that what caught my eye on this amp was the how good the NAD M2 digital integrated amp sounded, as this is in some ways related to the technology in that impressive amp. The Masters Series gear has very good build quality as well.
 
Last edited:
Catcher10 said:
Not many reports on the NAD Master Series around....
Click to expand...

No lack of interest in the M51 - my HF thread has over 570 posts and ~67K views. I cant remember which of the NAD bigwigs joined HF (Greg ?) simply to contribute to the thread, but clearly it didn't escape their attention. I have yet to see a negative review of the M51 - professional or otherwise. Not a single unhappy customer, at least fwir.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/602771/nad-m51-direct-digital-dac-impressions

Personally, I'm more interested in the C390DD, but that's a topic for another thread.
 
Thanks, John, for your interesting impressions of this intriguing product.
 
estreeter said:
No lack of interest in the M51 - my HF thread has over 570 posts and ~67K views. I cant remember which of the NAD bigwigs joined HF (Greg ?) simply to contribute to the thread, but clearly it didn't escape their attention. I have yet to see a negative review of the M51 - professional or otherwise. Not a single unhappy customer, at least fwir.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/602771/nad-m51-direct-digital-dac-impressions

Personally, I'm more interested in the C390DD, but that's a topic for another thread.
Click to expand...

Excellent thread, thank you for the link. I usually research a product before I get my hands on it, but that isn't the case with this (though I did know about it, from a Stereophile review that I made mental note of awhile back). That thread is incredibly informative. I've not read a single bad thing about the M51 yet.

Later today (after I acquire some more sleep..damned insomnia) I'll try it with my older v-link USB/coax converter to see if I notice any differences between that and running USB straight into it. I was just looking at the Empirical Off-Ramp. Man, this DAC thing could get as expensive as the vinyl setup! Which I have one less of now, since this has no analog inputs. I'm not worried about it...I can concentrate all the analog stuff in the other system.

So far there's been no glitches with hookup. HDMI and USB have worked flawlessly, and my computer recognized it immediately. Playing files using Decibel from sbooth.org.
 
I've used HDMI, Coax, and USB inputs and so far, I like the HDMI with the Pioneer Elite transport the best. Used a Musical Fidelity V-link with the Coax input. All were good, HDMI just sounds fantastic.
 
This was on my final list before I bought my Lynx Hilo. When I was buying there were none around for audition since they were brand new.

Nice to know I was on the right track. Lots of great reviews of this Dac out there. I hate to use the term Giant Killer, but it certainly appears to perform well above its price point.

Keep those reviews coming. Thanks!:thmbsp:
 
The preamp/DAC combo seems to be the new norm. How does it sound when used in the "preamp" mode? I am also particularly interested in the HDMI cables and how you set that up.
 
It's really more of a digital hub than a line stage, as there are no analog inputs. It has 2 HDMI inputs, coax, AES-EBU (which I haven't used), optical (haven't used) and USB. Unlike a lot of DACs I was looking at, it actually looks like a preamp. The one thing that I thought would be annoying, hasn't been: you can only control most of it with the remote. There's no volume knob, its all through the remote. But that hasn't been an issue as long as I keep track of the remote.

Volume is handled digitally and is done very well. As a DAC, you just set it to "fixed", as a pre, you just turn it to "variable". That's really the only difference. And there is no difference in sound quality that I can detect between the two. When used as just a DAC with the Leben, I still had it to variable, as the output with HDMI Is a bit lower and the Leben needed more gain from it.

HDMI setup was as simple as plugging them in. It decodes 2-channel from Blu-Ray, my cable box, etc, and switches video signals and passes them through to my projector. I'm using various Audioquest HDMI cables. They're well made and I've had bad luck with some cheap ones on the connector ends. There was no setup to be done, the handshake or whatever happens with HDMI wasn't an issue (it was at first with my receiver) though it does take the usual amount of time for my projector to figure out what's happening when I switch between HDMI sources. The Blu-Ray player is nearly brand new, a demo unit from Magnolia.

This HDMI ability was the selling point for me. I'm not aware of another DAC of this quality that has that option (licensing for HDMI is expensive, maybe too much for smaller companies). Not having an HDMI switch box sitting around is nice. I have one (thanks Ray!) that I would use when not using my receiver in here but I like that its all contained. Picture seems totally unaffected. It doesn't process or upconvert or anything. The one thing I'll miss is my receivers ability to take an s-video or composite feed from my LaserDisc player and upconvert it. It looked nice. But..I hardly ever used the LaserDisc player, and I'll just put it with my TV in the other room.

As far as sound as a preamp, it has plenty of drive, incredible bass and detail, and presents a big open soundstage. I'm probably more picky about preamps than I am anything, and it passes with flying colors. It certainly is no tube preamp. Its not forgiving, and it doesn't add much of its own flavor. But its also not too clean, too sterile, etc. Reminds me most of my Klyne, as it is nearly as dynamic.
 
Last edited:
JohnVF said:
It's really more of a digital hub than a line stage, as there are no analog inputs. It has 2 HDMI inputs, coax, AES-EBU (which I haven't used), optical (haven't used) and USB. Unlike a lot of DACs I was looking at, it actually looks like a preamp. The one thing that I thought would be annoying, hasn't been: you can only control most of it with the remote. There's no volume knob, its all through the remote. But that hasn't been an issue as long as I keep track of the remote.

Volume is handled digitally and is done very well. As a DAC, you just set it to "fixed", as a pre, you just turn it to "variable". That's really the only difference. And there is no difference in sound quality that I can detect between the two. When used as just a DAC with the Leben, I still had it to variable, as the output with HDMI Is a bit lower and the Leben needed more gain from it.

HDMI setup was as simple as plugging them in. It decodes 2-channel from Blu-Ray, my cable box, etc, and switches video signals and passes them through to my projector. I'm using various Audioquest HDMI cables. They're well made and I've had bad luck with some cheap ones on the connector ends. There was no setup to be done, the handshake or whatever happens with HDMI wasn't an issue (it was at first with my receiver) though it does take the usual amount of time for my projector to figure out what's happening when I switch between HDMI sources. The Blu-Ray player is nearly brand new, a demo unit from Magnolia.

This HDMI ability was the selling point for me. I'm not aware of another DAC of this quality that has that option (licensing for HDMI is expensive, maybe too much for smaller companies). Not having an HDMI switch box sitting around is nice. I have one (thanks Ray!) that I would use when not using my receiver in here but I like that its all contained. Picture seems totally unaffected. It doesn't process or upconvert or anything. The one thing I'll miss is my receivers ability to take an s-video or composite feed from my LaserDisc player and upconvert it. It looked nice. But..I hardly ever used the LaserDisc player, and I'll just put it with my TV in the other room.

As far as sound as a preamp, it has plenty of drive, incredible bass and detail, and presents a big open soundstage. I'm probably more picky about preamps than I am anything, and it passes with flying colors. It certainly is no tube preamp. Its not forgiving, and it doesn't add much of its own flavor. But its also not too clean, too sterile, etc. Reminds me most of my Klyne, as it is nearly as dynamic.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's one hell of an endorsement! Sounds like "cutting edge" to me. Have you used it as a preamp with the Pass Aleph 30?
 
240sx4u said:
I was really interested in this until I saw a lack of analog inputs. Dang.
Click to expand...

You could use it to convert all your digital sources, then run it into a passive with analog inputs, then into an amp. Added complexity, but that's my plan if I ever get the urge to bring a turntable back into this room.

MWalt said:
Wow, that's one hell of an endorsement! Sounds like "cutting edge" to me. Have you used it as a preamp with the Pass Aleph 30?
Click to expand...

Yes, I ran it into the Pass Aleph 30 and the Luxman 5M-21, as a preamp. Worked very well. But again, no option for an analog source. All my sources in that system are digital, though. Blu-Ray/CD transport, cable box, computer.
 
NumbDiver said:
This was on my final list before I bought my Lynx Hilo. When I was buying there were none around for audition since they were brand new.

Nice to know I was on the right track. Lots of great reviews of this Dac out there. I hate to use the term Giant Killer, but it certainly appears to perform well above its price point.

Keep those reviews coming. Thanks!:thmbsp:
Click to expand...

The other DAC I use, an Apogee Duet II, is said to be a giant killer, and the NAD kills that giant killer. The Apogee USB interface makes a great DAC, but this is on an entirely different level. My previous DAC to the Apogee was/is the DAC section of a Denon DVD-9000. For the price, an excellent option but this NAD unit really shows how far things have advanced.

I think between the NAD and the Mytek, things would be awfully close. I haven't had a chance to compare them back to back, but could probably arrange that.
 
The C390DD is also interesting...the DD for Direct Digital and allowing MDC expansion. That DD AP-1 Analog Phono module looks pretty interesting too......but the C390DD is a huge price step up from my C356BEE integrated....so I am actually afraid to hear what it can do!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom