Verdict
Sometimes , older - look equipment attempting to hug more modern technology can have a wind of the pensioner on an eScooter about it . Happily , that is by all odds not the instance here .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
How do youcelebrate a big birthday ? By letting everyone make a stir of you and give you nice gifts ? Well , that ’s not how NAD is rolling on the social function of its 50th natal day …
The NAD C3050 LE costs £ 1799 , and at the metre of piece of writing might peradventure be useable to buy . The hint ’s in the model name , you see – the LE stands for limited edition .
NAD officially built just 1972 example of the C3050 LE ( because the company was establish in 1972 ) , which means by the prison term you get to interpret this they may all be gone . This review article be , though , because as well as covering a tremendously impressive product , it also have-to doe with the direction in which the traditional hi - fi industry may well adjudicate it require to move if it intend to stay relevant enough for NAD ’s 100th birthday to be a causal agent for jubilation too .
Design
Despite what you may have thought ( and it ’s sure enough contrary to what I used to cogitate until very of late ) , NAD products were n’t always battleship grey in colour . That design decision was n’t taken until later in the LXX and only became ubiquitous with the 1979 launch of the legendary3020 integrated amplifier . Before then , NAD did what an horrendous destiny of hi - fi company used to do : attempt to disguise its box of electronics as furniture .
So the C3050 LE feature an dreadful lot of genuine , literal wood in its casework . And where it ’s not wood , it ’s partially VU meters – another nod to ‘ The Old Times ’ and exactly the sorting of feature I ’m ready to see make a proper comeback .
As well as illuminated VU meters , the facia also also features more buttons and orbitual dial than have adorn the front of an integrated amplifier for many year – and the words ‘ New Acoustic Dimension ’ and stereophonic also sport . It may be speaker system that are at the vanguard of the current trend for ‘ modern retro ’ hi - fi , but these numerous vintage touches elevate the C3050 LE well beyond simple pastiche .
It ’s a shame the remote control that accompany the amplifier is n’t a interchangeable sort of atavist – but contribute that a ) this amp is n’t built in any kind of quantity , and b ) most of the French telephone ’s functions can be drive fear of by the BluOS ascendence app , I guess it would n’t have made a whole muckle of economic sense to plan a ‘ back in the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. ’ outside control too .
So the C3050 LE looks just the just the ticket if you want to set your scout back 50 class . As long as you do n’t depend too closely at some of the functions of the fascia buttons , though , and you do n’t look at the back control board at all …
Features
When it comes to features , the NAD C3050 LE ’s subterfuge does n’t last . It might try its hardest to look like a throwback , but its specification is ideal for Q1 of the 21st century .
For starters , this is a Class D amplifier – none of your last - century Class A inefficiency . There was a clock time Class D was derided as a triumph of affordability and space - efficiency over audio performance – but that was back in the day . At this stage of the biz , Class D has nothing to prove . NAD is quoting a power output of 100 watts here , into both 4 and 8ohm loads . It ’s capable to take two duo of speakers simultaneously if you so desire – a circular dial on the fascia takes fear of line .
The entourage of connectivity that ’s on fling here pass water the caseful for the C3050 LE as a paradigm of contemporaneity even more forcefully . Beyond the two sets of loudspeaker cable’s length bond Post , physical connectivity consists of a move - magnet phono microscope stage , a air - spirit level analogue input , ocular and coaxial digital inputs , an Ethernet input , a USB slot and anHDMI eARCsocket . There is a pre - out for a subwoofer and another duad for utilization with a power amplifier .
Wireless connectivity is possible viaBluetooth(5.0 with up toaptX HDcodec compatibility ) and Wi - Fi – the NAD ’s rearward panel is fairly stand up with wireless feeler . All digital inputs , whether wire or wireless , extend to a 24 - bit/192kHz DAC , with reenforcement for legion file cabinet type including FLAC andMQA . On the front jury , meanwhile , there ’s a 6.3 mm socket for enjoyment with headphones .
The NAD is part of the BluOS ecosystem , and so is compatible with the almost entirely admirable BluOS controller app . Rather wilful font aside , it ’s an excellent user interface that cover every eventuality in some style , from integrating your pet music streaming service(s ) and cyberspace radio stations to setting book limits and other minutiae .
Of course , you may prefer to use the nicely tactile buttons on the fascia , and who could charge you ? Bear in mind that the volume control takes right smart too many turns to make worthwhile adjustment to intensity level , though …
Sound Quality
As far as setting up goes , there ’s a little more to the NAD than soak up speaker unit , attach source(s ) and supply with mains power . Like a few late NAD amplifier , the C3050 LE is compatible with Dirac Live Room Correction calibration software package – there ’s a mic and a USB dongle in the loge . Download the computer software , follow the instructions and Dirac will do its maximum to fine-tune the adenylic acid ’s production to best suit the surround in which you ’ve positioned it . This free taster works from 20Hz to 500Hz , but chucking some money Dirac ’s way of life nonplus you the full ( 20Hz – 20kHz ) experience .
Given that problem , should you have any , are likely to be at the sea bass end of the frequency range of a function , though , the free experience has every opportunity of sorting you out . And after that , you ’re innocent to enjoy the NAD C3050 LE in the cognition that it knows and realise your listening blank space .
Despite the ( very useful ) HDMI eARC socket , the NAD is primarily a stereo music equipment – and so that ’s how most of our testing is undertaken . A turntable is snitch to the amp ’s phono stage , a CD player to the digital coaxial input , and an Android smartphone with aptX HD codec capability is used for wireless cyclosis .
And no matter which source is in play , no matter the kind of music that ’s deploy ( I go from a vinyl group copy of Prince ’s Sign o the Times to a Bluetooth stream of Weyes Blood ’s It ’s Not Just Me , It ’s Everybody via a atomic number 48 copy of Public Image Limited ’s Poptones ) , the C3050 LE show a consistent , and unflappable , twist .
The positive degree of its functioning far outweigh the negatives , so I may as well get those out of the agency early on , in club to have a trial at what exactly is so likeable about it . So yes , it ’s not the most demonstrative amplifier you ever heard – there ’s a disinterest about its sound that could quite easily be confused for a deficiency of animation in the ill-timed circumstances .
The wrong circumstances in this instance , really , begin and end with the loudspeakers the NAD is driving – if they are similarly unprejudiced , the speech sound could conceivably seem a lilliputian detached . And despite the power evaluation , the C3050 LE just does n’t sound all that powerful – it does well to maintain its sonic posture no matter the level at which you ’re listening , but really blasting it out just does n’t seem to be on the menu .
Otherwise , the newsworthiness is reasonably dear . Certainly the NAD maintain a ordered tonality from the bottom of the frequency mountain chain to the top , and oversee to integrate every area of the frequency range with the sort of smoothness that create transitions all - but imperceptible .
Bass sounds are cryptic , textured and data - heavy – there ’s plenty of insight into the finest detail of low - frequency activity , and the form of strict attention paid to attack and radioactive decay that means rhythmical positiveness is pretty much guaranteed . There ’s nothing frenetic about the way the C3050 LE presents music , but it definitely does n’t attend about – euphony has authentic ( but well - controlled ) momentum .
The diametrical end of the frequency reach attacks with likewise polite determination , and two-fold sound have right essence to complement their pungency and shine . contingent level are equally gamey , and the NAD keeps a tight eye on the sort of short-lived high - frequency entropy that ’s such a big part of , say , the Prince transcription . The correspondence the C3050 LE strikes at the top end , making ternary sounds crisp but never take into account them to become edgy or laborious ( even at what blow over for freehanded volumes here ) is impressive too .
In between , the midrange is focused and spacious enough to reserve vocalist of all form the space to express themselves . The NAD ’s ability with soundstaging really comes into its own here – without fall back any of its winning sensation of oneness , the C3050 LE organises a stage to the point that every component of a recording is locked in place , free from interference from any other element .
The wide - capable spaces and big areas of silence that are a big part of the Prince recordings ( yes , him again ) are given appropriate excrescence – and those silences are dark and rank . Detail levels are just as high here as elsewhere , and the result is a stratum of eloquence and aplomb that ’s by no means a given even when spend this kind of money on two - channel elaboration . The NAD vocalise naturalistic and convincing through the midrange – with just a short more profitableness it would be dead ideal .
The low - level dynamic of a recording , the tonal variations that are unmistakable peculiarly when listening to a solo instrument , are identify and contextualised with real self-assurance . The more visceral dynamics of quiet down middle eight to last climactic chorus are made apparent too – but the C3050 LE does n’t quite go the whole hog . Other damage - comparable designs have great dynamic headroom and breathe more deeply .
Happily , everything that ’s enjoyable about the sound the NAD wee-wee is carried over to the HDMI eARC socket . Just as for certain as with music , of course , the quality of the audio sign buy the farm into the C3050 LE dictate the tone of speech sound that comes out – but as an graceful and fuss - free mode of putting a rocket up the sound of your TV , this amplifier is profoundly useful .
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Should you buy it?
NAD is promising a vanilla extract C3050 , but the LE has a charm that only comes from being severe to find .
Yes , you could probably sell yours for more than you paid ( but you ’re a soulless misery - guts if you do ) .
Final Thoughts
There has to be more to a retro production than simply looking old - fashioned – that ’s something Volkswagen and Fiat understand when reimagining the Beetle and the 500 , but it ’s something that seems to have sidestep whole swathe of the hi - fi industry for whom retro simply means retrograde .
But with its ‘ happy birthday to us ’ circumscribed edition C3050 stereo amplifier , NAD has demonstrated that a vintage appearing does n’t preclude some state - of - the - art functionality . It wo n’t please those owner who are enjoying the limited nature of their nice new / quondam amplifier , but NAD should really study making this amp , wooden casework and all , a fixture in its product catalogue .
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How we test
We test every amplifier we review good over an extended period of time . We use industry standard tests to compare features right . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to review a product .
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FAQs
The C3050 was announced at Munich High End in May of 2023 . This review you ’re reading is of the define edition poser but availability of that model is less with only a few unit still available as of June 2023 .
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We currently have n’t find answers to the interrogative on this product , but will update this page the moment we do . you’re able to see a detailed breakdown of the questions we ask and why in oursustainability information page .
