NAD C 700 Review and Comparison

I've said it before, and I'll say it many more times no doubt, I'm a huge fan of BluOS. I applaud Lenbrook for its herculean effort to create BluOS from scratch and to continue supporting and expanding it over the years. Lenbrook is a blue-chip company, with great people, great products (Bluesound, NAD, PSB), and great support. Audiophiles should put Lenbrook companies near the top of their lists when seeking to upgrade, expand, or find the perfect product, like I did when designing my outdoor audio system. 

The NAD C 700

The NAD C 700 is a BluOS streaming amplifier with tons of features and great versatility. Back in the day people would've said the heart of this product is its HybridDigital UcD amplifier with ultra-low noise and distortion, and focussed mainly on that hardware which drives the loudspeakers. Today, in addition to brawn, products also have brains that are every bit as important. The C 700's brain is the BluOS software that takes this product to another level.

Like other BluOS products from Lenbrook, the C 700 supports more streaming services than most other non-BluOS HiFi product, including Amazon Music Unlimited's lossless high resolution content. Need 63 zones of music? Just add some BluOS components, including the C 700. Need AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, or Tidal Connect? Same answer. The feature list goes on and on with BluOS. The most important to me is the selection of services for content. If one can't play his/her favorite music, what good is any component? Neil Young Archives, Nugs.net, and SiriusXM are some differentiators for those taking notes. 

On the hardware side, the C 700 is also feature rich. In fact, it's mostly these features that separate it from its cousin the Bluesound Powernode. I used the C 700 on my desktop, connected to a pair of Wilson Audio TuneTot loudspeakers. As a desktop component, I loved the "just add speakers" aspect and a couple features most. 

The physical volume knob is key. I'm a tech geek who loves all things digital, but I also realize that just because we can put something on a phone, doesn't mean it's the best option. Case in point, volume controls. The C 700 can obviously be controlled via the BluOS application on iOS, Android, and even via desktop applications, but it's the physical volume knob that's golden. 

Listening through the C 700 all day as I work, I often needed to quickly mute the volume.  When phone calls came in or my daughter started walking up the stairs to my office, there was nothing better than quickly punching the volume knob on the C 700 to pause playback or spin it down a bit to lower the volume. Everyone who has used a digital system with only a software volume control should immediately see the value in this physical knob. It only takes one important phone call where you fumble to turn down the volume for the first ten seconds of the call, to understand this one. 

In addition to the large volume knob, the C 700's 5 inch color display is a differentiator with a difference as well. Sitting next to my Apple Pro Display XDR and Wilson TuneTots, this display was really nice. Sure, I could've looked for cover art on the BluOS application running on my Mac, but I often take the path of least resistance. Glancing over at the C 700 to see the nicely sized album art, streaming service logo, HR or CD logo, track information and track progress was far more convenient. 

Perhaps the most important features of the C 700 are the input options. Similar to content choices, if a component doesn't offer a way to input one's music from other sources, it's a showstopper. The C 700 is far more than just a digital source with Ethernet, coax, and optical inputs. This component has a couple analog inputs, and both pre and subwoofer outputs. I love the pre out because it enables one to use a different amplifier at some point in the future, without the requirement of upgrading everything. Like the C 700 for its BluOS capability and other features, but want to use a different amp? No problem, use the analog pre out to connect a different amplifier. Options like this are great from the get-go and can prolong the life of a component down the road. 

Listening Through and Comparing The NAD C 700

I used the C 700 on my desktop, but readers must keep in mind my desktop is far from normal. The Wilson TuneTots aren't one's normal desktop speakers, but I feel very fortunate to have these in for review and to listen through them every day. With this in mind, it goes without saying that the C 700 is far from a desktop only component. I'm willing to bet the vast majority of C 700's installed aren't used on a desktop, even though it's great for such usage. 

Given the C 700's placement about two feet from my desk chair, I can attest to unit's lack of heat output. I've had everything from class A amps to tube amps on my desk, and I understand full well what it's like to sit next to a heater every day. The C 700 is not a heater. The unit is warm to the touch, but puts out very little heat. It's currently -14º F in Minneapolis, and I could use a little heat, but in the big picture, it's likely a benefit for most users that the C 700 doesn't double as both an amplifier and room heater. 

Listening trough the NAD C 700 connected to the Wilson TuneTots was certainly enjoyable. I recently discovered artist Aoife O'Donovan and her cover of Bruce Springsteen's track Nebraska. The song is on Aoife's solo acoustic album called In the Magic Hour Solo Sessions. Given the laid back nature of this album, it was nice to hear the finesse of the C 700 as opposed to pushing its power capabilities with a Nine Inch Nails album. Aoife's voice and guitar sounded very nice, with the C 700 volume set to 50% as I sat back in my chair to take in her beautiful rendition of Nebraska. Audiophiles seeking the more fine details, reverb tails, and endless decay will need to move up a bit in the NAD line, but what I heard from the C 700 was far from the bottom of the line. This is a very capable component that most listeners will be thrilled to connect to their speakers. 

Pushing the C 700 a bit harder, I turned the volume up to 70% and played Jack White's new track titled Taking Me Back. It's a track full of glorious distorted guitar and powerful kick drums. It's signature Jam White stuff. The C 700 was no slouch, pushing the TuneTot woofers and producing serious volume. The overall sound was certainly something I could live with, even if it was a little flat at its peak. 

Listening to Pearl Jam's 2004 remix of its song Black, through he NAD C 700, was nice and for the most part very satisfying. However, this is where I noticed a coloration to Eddie Vedder's voice. This coloration would likely go unnoticed by many listeners, but because I'm a knuckle dragging audiophile who listens to music ten hours per day, it can jump out at me. This is also when I decided to set my Bluesound Powernode ($949) on top of the NAD C 700 and compare the sound quality of the two units. 

Listening to Black (2004 remix) through the Powernode revealed much more of Vedder's voice without the C 700 coloration. The Powernode has a purity to it that the C 700 couldn't match. Switching to other tracks, such as the aforementioned Jack White track, there was a sense of much more control through the Powernode than the C 700. 

Based on my listening to both the C 700 and Powernode, both connected to the Wilson TuneTots, I liked the Powernode better. Readers must keep in mind that this is only a single example, using one set of speakers. The TuneTots are the only speakers I have that are reasonable to pair with the Powernode and C 700. Perhaps there are better pairings for the C 700. I really don't know. 

I should also note that the volume levels of these two amplifiers are incredibly difficult to match. The C 700 has a percentage indicator, while the Powernode has no such numerical indication. In addition, the volume curves on these devices are different. Meaning, when the volume is set to half way on both devices, both devices aren't outputting 50% of their power or even the same percentage of their power. This made level matching pretty difficult. I gave it my best shot in order to do as fair of comparison as I could. Certainly not scientific.

Seeking information about the differences between the C 700 and Powernode that could explain the differences I heard, I looked at the specifications. Here are the specs I received from Lenbrook, which could begin to explain some of the differences when paired with the TuneTot speakers. 

Powernode:
SNR -100dBA
THD+N, 0.008%
IHF Dynamic Power 220W (4 Ohms) / 130W (8 Ohms)
Power 80 Watts per channel
 
C 700:
SNR >84 dB
THD+N <0.04 %
IHF Dynamic Power 200W (4 Ohms) / 100W (8 Ohms)
Power 80 Watts per channel

Closing Notes

Some important items to consider when looking at the C 700 and Powernode, or other products for that matter, are the speakers paired with the unit and feature set. While I found the C 700 to sound good, but the Powernode to sound better, I'd be shocked if this was the case for everyone. Perhaps there are better amp-speaker pairings than what I used. In addition, the feature sets of these two components are vastly different. Severely reduced inputs and physical attributes may sway people away from the Powernode if items like the physical volume knob and 5 in ch display are desired. I certainly liked them for use on my desktop and can see why others will as well. 

I also want to make note of the fantastic team at Lenbrook. These guys had a responsiveness and willingness to hear me out, that is second to none. When I discovered that the volume control in the lesser-used Mac BluOS app is a bit wonky because it doesn't follow the default natural scroll direction of macOS, the team was quick to note this will be fixed in an upcoming release. Also, I voiced my concern about the C 700's front panel buttons. Not only did the team listen to me and understand my concern, they are taking another look at how the buttons function now and I wouldn't be surprised to see a slight, more user friendly, adjustment in the future. 

The bottom line is that the NAD C 700 may not have been a perfect match for my speakers, but it's BluOS brains remain top notch. The Powernode was a better choice for me, but that's to be expected. If one size fit all, Lenbrook could save itself serious time and money by reducing its number of SKUs down to one. I encourage interested music lovers to consider hardware features and speaker pairings when looking to upgrade or expand their playback capabilities. 

Product Information:

• NAD C 700 $1,499
• NAD C 700 Data Sheet (PDF)
• NAD C 700 Owner's Manual (PDF)
• NAD C 700 Quick Start Guide (PDF)

Associated Music:

• Audiophile Style 50 (Qobuz)
• Computer Audiophile PJ4CA Playlist (Tidal)

Associated Equipment: