The C 399 Hybrid Digital DAC Amplifier is the clearest expression yet of NAD’s commitment to sonic excellence and lasting value. Employing NAD’s HybridDigital nCore amplification, which until now has been available only on Masters Series amplifiers, the C 399 is the new flagship integrated amplifier in NAD’s Classic Series.
The C 399’s digital section is built around a 32-bit/384kHz ESS Sabre DAC, the same chip used in NAD’s acclaimed M10 and M33 Masters Series amplifiers. The C 399 also the first amplifier to incorporate the latest generation of NAD’s Modular Design Construction (MDC) technology: MDC2. MDC2 lets users add optional modules that provide functions such as BluOS Hi-Res multi-room music streaming, Dirac Live room correction and more.
“As with every NAD amplifier, the C 399 gets the basics right: a precise volume control with accurate channel balance, low-noise circuits, and correct input and output impedances. The C 399 with its HybridDigital nCore output stage and high-resolution ESS Sabre DAC can reproduce all your digital and analog sources to a level of excitement and refinement that is unprecedented in its class”, says Cas Oostvogel, NAD Electronics’ Product Manager. “Ever since the launch of the legendary 3020 integrated amplifier in 1978, the NAD brand has been synonymous with value and performance. The C 399 takes that reputation to a whole new level. Thanks to NAD’s innovative new MDC2 architecture, the C 399 can serve as the hub of a world-class music system today, and for many years to come.”
Trickled down from NAD’s Masters Series, the C 399’s HybridDigital nCore amplifier is highly efficient and remarkably powerful. It can deliver 180 Watts per channel continuous power, and 250 Watts per channel instantaneous power, allowing the C 399 to produce musical transients effortlessly. The HybridDigital nCore design is renowned for its wide bandwidth, flat frequency response, clean clipping behavior with instant recovery, high current capability, and stability into demanding low-impedance speaker loads. Noise and distortion are vanishingly low under all operating conditions. The minute levels of harmonic distortion are dominated by sonically benign second and third harmonics. These refinements enable the C 399 to produce neutral, distortion-free sound even at very high listening levels.
Also trickled down from the Masters Series is the ESS Sabre ES9028 high-resolution DAC, a design noted for its wide dynamic range, ultra-low noise and distortion, and near-zero levels of clock jitter. This premium DAC enables the C 399 to reproduce all of one’s digital sources with amazing musicality, a precise soundstage, and stunning clarity.
The C 399 has two optical and two coaxial digital inputs, plus an HDMI-eARC port for playing audio from a connected TV, while controlling amplifier output with the TV’s remote control. Analog fans are well served with two pairs of RCA line-level inputs, plus a MM phono stage with ultra-precise RIAA equalization, extremely low noise, and high overload margins. The phono preamp also features an innovative circuit that suppresses the infrasonic noise present on all LPs, without compromising bass response. The line inputs have low-noise buffer amplifiers to prevent sonic degradation.
In addition to two sets of speaker outputs, the C 399 has preamp output jacks and dual subwoofer outputs. Two-way aptX HD Bluetooth allows 24-bit streaming from mobile devices, and high-quality output to Bluetooth headphones. Also built-in is a dedicated headphone amplifier with low output impedance and high output voltage capability, enabling the C 399 to drive demanding high-impedance studio monitor headphones.
MDC2 Modular Future
In 2006, NAD introduced Modular Design Construction (MDC), an innovative architecture for adding new functions to existing components and help reduce technological obsolescence. The MDC platform remains one of the longest-running and most successful future-proofing programs in hi-fi. Many NAD products have rear-panel slots for MDC modules that perform UHD (4K) support, HDMI switching, BluOS multi-room music streaming, Dolby Atmos surround processing, and other functions.
“Redesigned from the ground up, MDC2 builds on the success of the original MDC platform for stereo components and now supports bidirectional data protocols, which allows for a wider range of upgrade possibilities than the first-generation MDC platform,” adds Oostvogel.
The C 399 is the first product to feature NAD’s second generation MDC2 Modular Design Construction. By enabling two-way communications between the module and host component, MDC2 allows for adding desirable features, while the bidirectional communications architecture supports technology upgrades that have yet to be conceived. The first product using the new design is the MDC2 BluOS-D Module, which features Dirac Live Room Correction, BluOS hi-res multi-room streaming and music management, and much more. The suggested retail price of the MDC2 BluOS-D module is $549 USD with retail availability in time for the holiday season.
Equipped with Wi-Fi and Ethernet, the optional MDC2 BluOS-D module lets listeners play music from their favorite streaming services through the C 399, using the BluOS Controller app for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. Like all BluOS Enabled products, the MDC2 BluOS-D has integrated support for dozens of streaming services; supports Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and Tidal Connect, and incorporates two-way Qualcomm aptX HD Bluetooth. There’s also a USB port for playing music from a connected USB drive. Two-way communications also enable the MDC2 BluOS-D to stream music from local sources connected to the C 399 to BluOS Enabled components in other rooms.
The Dirac Live function lets users measure the room’s acoustics using the supplied microphone and intuitive app, and then upload correction curves to the MDC2 BluOS-D. By compensating for acoustic anomalies in the listening environment, Dirac Live dramatically improves bass clarity, imaging, and timbral accuracy. The MDC2 BluOS-D module can store up to five Dirac profiles for different listening positions and room conditions—for example whether the drapes are open or closed.
As well as correcting peaks and dips in frequency response, Dirac Live optimizes impulse response by learning how sounds reflect off various surfaces in the listening space. The result is dramatically improved bass clarity, imaging, and timbral accuracy, on music and movie soundtracks. Thanks to its two-way architecture, the MDC2 BluOS-D performs Dirac Live room correction for all sources connected to the C 399.
The MDC2 BluOS-D module also features BluOS high-resolution music streaming. Available for iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows, the flexible BluOS Controller app provides access to hundreds of internet radio stations and more than 20 streaming services. Like all BluOS products, the MDC2 BluOS-D module supports high-resolution playback up to 24-bit/192kHz, as well as MQA. With the MDC2 BluOS-D module, users can share music from any source connected to the host component with up to 63 BluOS-enabled components on the same network. Playback can also be controlled by Alexa or Google voice commands, and from smart home control systems from Crestron, Control4, Lutron, RTI, and others.
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