Absolute Sound

equipment report
NAD C 162 Preamplifier, C 272 Power Amplifier
Chris Martens
Before we talk about NAD’s C
162 and C 272 preamp and
power amplifiers—the flagships
of the firm’s “Classic
Series” product line—I
should tell you I have a deep fondness for
well-designed, affordable amplifiers,
especially ones that strive for good
overall balance and musicality (rather
than for whatever happens to be the
trendy audiophile “virtue-of-themonth”).
I should also mention that
I’ve owned (or assembled for others)
a number of NAD-based systems
over the years—systems that often
produced exceptional sound at reasonable
prices (see this month’s TAS
Retrospective for further details).
This is not to suggest that I find all
NAD products universally praiseworthy,
since like most of you I think
it’s necessary to assess each new component
on its own merits—regardless of
the manufacturer’s reputation—and to
let the product evaluation chips fall
where they may. But it is fair to say I
was eager to hear what NAD’s new C
162/C 272 pair could do, and let me tell
you up front that this $1298 pair did
not disappoint.
The C 162 is a full-featured stereo
preamplifier that provides six line-level
inputs, a phono section with dual
(switch selectable) moving-magnet and
moving-coil inputs, and two sets of outputs—one
fixed-level and one variablelevel
(which together make handling
Plainly the C 162 and 272
have all the important “features
and functions” bases
well covered, but for most of
us the essential question is
whether these components
can make sweet music.
complicated bi-amplified systems a
snap). The C 162 breaks with current
“audio purist” norms, providing (gasp!)
a balance control and tone controls (with
the obligatory tone-defeat switch, of
course). Though it may be high-end
heresy to say so, I welcome the return of
the balance control since my practical
experience is that the soundstages of
some recordings benefit enormously
from a bit of judicious balance tweaking.
The tone controls, too, are among the
most useful and audiophile-friendly that
I’ve heard, adding virtually no veiling
when in-circuit, and providing toneshaping
curves that are extraordinarily
subtle (they function primarily as delicate
“timbre tuners”). Finally, the C
162 comes with a highly intuitive
remote control that’s a joy to use.
The C 272 is a 150Wpc stereo
power amp that, in keeping with
NAD tradition, sounds much more
powerful than its power ratings
would suggest. With bi-amplification
requirements in mind, the C
272 provides both fixed- and variable-level
inputs (making it easy to
level-match the C 272 with a thirdparty
amp). The amplifier bristles
with convenience-oriented details,
including two sets of speaker binding
posts (to facilitate bi-wiring), a switchselectable
Soft Clipping circuit (useful
in preventing damage when hard
partiers crank the amplifier up to speaker-roasting
levels), 12 V trigger inputs,
and a signal-sensing automatic turn-on
feature. Generally, I found these convenience
touches worked well, though I
56 THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ■ JUNE/JULY 2004