NAD C328 Integrated Ampifier

In 2015, the venerable Canadian audio company NAD introduced its soon-to-be-popular D 3020 integrated amplifier, which combined 30Wpc output, streaming capability, and an onboard DAC in a slick, contoured case.

NAD’s latest D/A integrated also smartly combines trend with functionality, lifestyle convenience with technological advancement. The C 328 Hybrid Digital amplifier goes its older, smaller sibling a couple steps better in features, while reverting to NAD’s traditional look: an unfancy box finished in a dark shade of matte gray with subtle white lettering and logo. Like the D

3020, the C 328 includes a DAC and Bluetooth connectivity, and adds to them a headphone amp and moving-magnet phono stage. Powered by a Hypex Universal class-D (UcD) amplifier module outputting 40Wpc, the C 328 appears, on paper, to be the entry-level integrated to beat, assuming it ticks all the boxes in the test that matters most: sound quality.

Over the past year I’ve reviewed entry-level integrated amplifiers that cost more but weren’t necessarily as powerful as the C 328. The Heed Elixir ($1199) offered 50Wpc, a headphone amp, and MM phono stage, and ditto the Rega Research Brio ($995)óbut neither included a DAC or Bluetooth. Does the NAD C 328 offer greater bang for the buck than those costlier components?

At first I was confused about the C 328’s inclusion of a DAC. Does NAD assume that prospective audiophiles who want an integrated amp with Bluetooth also own an older-model CD player they’d like to pair with the C 328’s higher-quality, Cirrus Logic CS42528ñenabled DAC? Or is NAD aiming the C 328 at casual and serious listeners alikeóthose for whom Tidal and Spotify, not to mention their Sonos or Denon Heos streamer, are as important as their Vijay Iyer, Berliner Philharmonic, and Kendrick Lamar CDs? NAD’s apparent goal with the C 328 is to give everyone what they want, recalling that 1940s catchphrase, “Is everybody happy?”

Design

The C 328 is perhaps the most minimalist-looking NAD product ever. On the slim front panel of its plain case of thin steel are only, from left to right: a Standby button, a º” headphone jack, left and right Source buttons for scrolling through options (TV, Phono, Coaxial 1, etc.), an oblong display, a Bass EQ button (it boosts the bass response by 7dB), and a large volume knob. That last item is notable for its pliant, almost squishy feel.

The very small remote-control handsetóit could almost hide behind a playing cardóduplicates the front-panel controls and adds Mute, a Dim button for the display, Bluetooth playback, and On and Off buttons, which switch the C 328 out of and into Standby.

The rear panel of this slim integrated-DAC is more densely populated, some jacks resulting in a tight fit when neighboring RCA jacks are also occupied. From left to right: a Bluetooth antenna connection, two optical inputs, four pairs of

RCA inputs (Coaxial, Streaming, TV, Phono), a Subwoofer out, a ground screw, a nine-pin port for attaching remote-control or firmware-update devices, two pairs of speaker binding posts, the AC power inlet and fuse bay, and the master Power rocker switch. The C 328 sits on four shallow, conical feet of hard plastic

Setup

I used the C 328 primarily with the components of my smaller rig, which includes a Thorens TD 124 Mk.I turntable with Jelco 350S tonearm and Ortofon Quintet Bronze cartridge, and Quad

S-2 speakers. The turntable and electronics sit on a nondescript, two-tier shelving unit I found in my building’s hallway. The speakers sit atop 24”-high metal speaker stands. For comparisons and variation, I brought in Elac’s Debut B6 loudspeakers and my trusty LG BD550 Blu-ray player, the latter used as a transport. A Lounge Audio Copla step-up amplifier handled incoming phono signals from the Ortofon moving-coil

cartridge into the NAD’s MM-only phono stage. The most excellent Triode Wire Labs Single-Ended RCA interconnects and Tellurium Q Black speaker cables juiced signals over audio hill and dale, and an IsoTek IVO3 Aquarius power conditioner cleaned up the messy AC of my building’s 1960s wiring.

Listening to Jackie, Herbie, Sonny, Hamilton

Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean’s slightly sour, melodiously left-of-center playing is one of the joys of jazz.

Out of the gate, the C 328, like many, didn’t cotton to Jackie’s bag. Onto the platter of the Thorens I dropped Bluesnik, from 1961 (LP, Blue Note BLP 4067)óthe sound was weak, thin, and musically lacked thrust and commitment. Overall tone was solid and resolution very strong, but there was no meat on the bones, no flesh-and-blood bodies blowing the tunes behind these hard bop notes. A cardinal sin: the NAD didn’t let the collective genius of Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Drew, Doug Watkins, and Pete La Roca shine; instead, it clothed their majesty in ill-fitting clothes.

I’ve been on a major Herbie Hancock kick of late, jamming into the wee small hours with Inventions & Dimensions, Empyrean Isles, Thrust, and Mwandishi. So when I played Takin’ Off (LP, Blue Note BLP 4109), I was pleasantly surprised to hear the C 328 render this 50-plus-year-old LP’s large sound, including a copious low end with purpose and power.

Given the peaky sound of brass instruments on some LPs, I wondered if the C 328’s reproduction of treble frequencies was clashing with the Quad S-2s’ ribbon tweeters. Those small ribbons are very refined and resolute, but can be deadly with the wrong electronics.

Setting up Bluetooth with the NAD C 328 was a breeze, and it was easy to access, every time. I scrolled to the C 328’s Bluetooth option using the tiny remote, then accessed the WiFi menu of my iPhone, selected Bluetooth, tapped “C 328,” and brought up Spotifyówhere I had already saved Stephen Mejias’s “Weird New Pop” playlist as a favorite. Those glorious sounds greeted me like an old friend. I greatly miss Stephen’s pieces on Audiostream.com, and I hope he’ll return to them at some point. It was he who introduced me to the stunning R&B singer SZAóand there she was, in all her Bluetooth goodness: as with every similarly equipped product I’ve heard, Bluetooth streaming through the NAD sounded big but compressed.

Conclusion

The NAD C 328 Hybrid Digital integrated amplifier easily met the challenges I set it, making sweet music with minimum fuss. It’s picky about the equipment it prefers to associate with, but benefited from its good phono stage and even better DAC, displaying excellent retrieval of information both micro and macro. Its bass frequencies were warm and full, if not extended or particularly focused. I’ve heard integrateds at this or higher prices with brawnier sound, but none that provided so much music for so little money. Playing LPs or CDs or streaming Bluetooth, the NAD C 328 was a consummate overachiever that never failed to please, given recordings that were up to the task. Pair it with an entry-level turntable and a pair of Elac Debut B6es and you’ve got a bangin’-good system for under $1500 (all prices: online). In these penny-pinching, frightening times, that’s something to shout “Get happy!” about.