The NAD C 700 announced this week expands on the company’s “just-add-speakers” options, similar to the M10 which just entered its second generation back in mid August. Decked out with a 5″ screen and a relatively small form factor, the NAD Electronics C 700 BluOS Streaming Amplifier suggested retail price will hit the market at a lower price than the premium $2,749 “M” option.
Rated at 80W continuous power into 8 or 4 ohms, the BluOS based streamer is capable of 24/192 resolutions as well as MQA decoding. More techs and specs in the press release below, but putting some of that aside, what usually makes or breaks many of these streaming products is the operation on the software side. So the partnership with BlueOS is definitely a good option to help put this item into a solid consideration set for would be buyers. Of course, streaming only options will run you less (even from NAD), but the allure of a single box will no doubt call to an increasing number of audiophiles in the years ahead. This especially holds true as options get smaller and more capable.
NAD Launches New C 700 BluOS Streaming Amplifier
Housed in a compact and modern design, the C 700 was designed with a listener in mind who seeks an uncompromised listening experience with a focus on value. Inside the solid aluminium housing is a powerful HybridDigital UcD amplifier and BluOS Enabled network streamer. Using the intuitive BluOS app, the ability to cue music from a digital library, or stream from internet radio and online services like Spotify, Amazon Music HD, Tidal, and Qobuz could not be easier. The C 700 delivers an experience similar to the award-winning Masters Series M10 BluOS Music Streaming Amplifier.
Compact and Modern Design
Thanks to its elegant, minimalist design and premium materials, the C 700 will engage the most demanding of listeners — audibly as well as visually. The C 700 is housed in a solid aluminium case, with a smooth glass front panel and 5” high-definition color display that shows album artwork, track status, and system settings. Via the C 700’s color display, adjusting amplifier settings is quick and convenient with the added benefit of having the ability to learn commands from any pre-existing remote control.
“The C 700 creates exceptional value for those seeking a modern and easy-to-use standalone music system”, comments Cas Oostvogel, NAD’s Product Manager. “Ever since NAD introduced the legendary 3020 integrated amplifier in 1978, the NAD brand has been renowned for value, performance, and innovation. With the C 700 BluOS Streaming Amplifier, NAD has completely updated that tradition for the streaming era.”
Powerful HybridDigital UcD Amplification
The highly efficient UcD amplifier design is renowned for ultra-low noise and distortion through the entire frequency range, regardless of the loudspeaker load. Employing NAD’s proven HybridDigital UcD amplifier technology, the C 700 can deliver 2×80 watts of continuous power and 2×120 watts of instantaneous power, for effortless music reproduction.
The C 700 has everything needed to play music, by just adding speakers. The BluOS app creates an intuitive way to select music from dozens of different streaming services, internet radio, or to play music stored on an external drive connected to the C 700’s USB port.
In addition to the audiophile grade speaker outputs, the C 700 has a subwoofer output jack where it’s required. Convenient low and high-pass crossover settings in the BluOS app provide a seamless blend between the subwoofer and main speakers.
The C 700 has two pairs of RCA analogue inputs, as well as coaxial and optical digital inputs, for connecting disc players, game consoles, media adapters, and other components. There’s also an HDMI eARC port for connecting a HDTV with HDMI ARC support. This allows the C 700’s volume setting to be adjusted from the TV’s remote. Two-way aptX HD Bluetooth provides a convenient way to listen to music through wireless headphones, and stream audio from any smart device.
Key Features of the NAD C 700 BluOS Streaming Amplifier
HybridDigital UcD Amplifier
Continuous Power: 80 Watts per channel into 8/4 ohms
Instantaneous Power: 120 Watts per channel
5” high-definition colour information display shows album art, track progress, and system settings
Solid aluminum body and glass front panel
Works with intuitive BluOS Controller app forAndroid, iOS, macOS, and Windows
BluOS multi-room streaming to 63 zones
High-resolution audio to 24-bit/192Hz
MQA decoding and rendering
Lossless and high-resolution streaming from Amazon Music HD, Deezer, Idagio, Qobuz, and Tidal
Support for Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and Tidal Connect
Voice control via Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, and Google Assistant
Optical and coaxial digital inputs
HDMI eARC port
Two-way aptX HD Bluetooth
12V Trigger output
The NAD Electronics C 700 BluOS Streaming Amplifier will retail for $1,499 when it begins shipping in late October of this year.
More info: NAD Electronics C 700 BluOS Streaming Amplifier
