Lenrick -

 

I'm auditioning the C390DD this weekend as well. Look forward to reading what your thoughts are. So far all I can say is WOW! I auditioned at my AD's store between thE C390DD and the NAD c375bee with the Rega Dac. I've found the C390DD a little more open, detailed and laid back which I didn't expect. Extremely impressed so far. I've been auditioning quite a few amp/dac combos and haven't found anything to deter me from purchasing the C390dd.

 

Using older Dynaudio Audience 52's and I've never heard them sing like they are. I'm newer to the audio world but have listened to a lot of high end gear, and IMO this beats anything out there at this price point. Only issue I have is the "newness" of the product.

Hey skoorb824

 

 

 

I have found it a bit strange that there has been so little talk about the NAD C390DD. It feels like I read the most positive texts about the M2 everywhere I look. The only issue people seem to have with the M2 is that it is made by NAD and that it is expensive (or extremely cheap depending on the author). Therefor it seemed natural to me that there would be a fuzz about a cheaper version of the M2, but it has been very quiet.

 

 

 

So it is nice to hear that there are other people auditioning it too.

 

 

 

This week, I was going to turn the C390DD inside out (listening-wise that is), but the week starts with my wife being ill in the influenza. Most likely scenario: the first half of this week I won't be able to get much done with the audio gear due to her being ill, the second half of this week I won't be able to get much done with the audio gear due to me being ill.

 

 

 

I guess that is life.

 

 

 

But I can deliver my initial thoughts. They are not WOW!, but really really positive. But one must take into consideration that I use our living room as my listening room and it is far (very far) from a good listening room. I hope only to stay in this house 5 more years or so, but until then...

 

 

 

I compare this setup to the C355BEE with a Hegel HD10 DAC (with and without a Dared DL2000 preamp). Setup and setup by the way, it is now only one box replacing three things.

 

 

 

On its own I would probably not have bought the C390DD, it is better but not worth the difference it makes in my room with my main speakers at the moment. But together with two good subwoofers using digital crossover and stereo I love it. I can listen to music using much lower volume than before and still get all I want out of it.

 

 

 

What I was hoping to do this week was to align the main speakers and subs to get the best out of the room/audio system. I find it hard to really judge a part in an audio system without aligning the speakers for the best before, but it takes so much time to do so.

 

 

 

Links:

 

http://www.hegel.com/DAC.htm

 

 

 

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0110/hegel_hd10_dac.htm

 

 

 

http://www.dared.gr/display.php?lang=EN&model=DL-2000

I hope you try USB direct to the NAD as well as via the HiFace..

 

 

 

Eloise

Wonderful Eloise, I'm really looking forward to hear what you have to say. Since almost all my music is sampled at 96kHz it would not be a major loss for me to use a USB cable directly, instead of the HiFace.

 

 

 

There are a few benefits with a with USB cable, both practical and maybe (hopefully) sonically. Both the HiFace itself and the digital coaxial cable are impractical, with the HiFace being just between 'small and convenient' and 'big and solid', and the cable being stiff pulling on the HiFace which does not lock into the USB port. It looks and feels messy. The Halide Design Bridge would probably have been a much better choice, now that I think about it.

 

 

 

I'm always trying to shorten the signal path as much as possible, skipping the HiFace would do that. If I can get a little bit more out of my 96kHz and tidy up a somewhat messy looking system with a USB cable direct, I'm all for it. If I loose something from my few 192kHz tracks, that's ok.

 

 

 

I managed to get some speaker alignment done yesterday. I had to increase the toe-in and pull the speakers further from the wall. Maybe this is expected when you add subwoofers like I have just done. Anyway, it sounds much better compared with NAD355BEE + Hegel HD10. I usually don't use these common labels such as open or laid back, but here I will say that more details come through without it turning brittle and boring.

 

 

 

Links:

 

http://www.halidedesign.com/bridge/

 

 

 

http://www.m2tech.biz/hiface.html

Hi Lenrick -

 

Hope all is well with your wife, and she's recovered. Any new thoughts on the NAD C390DD?

 

Thanks,

 

Skoorb824

Hej

 

 

 

She is fine, thank you for asking.

 

 

 

But I have had no time to do any proper listening. I will probably go on parental leave soon, and I really hope to find the time then. I'll update as soon as I have something to say.

 

 

 

What about you? Any interesting news?