Audiophilepure

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/nad-c-399-integrated-amplifier-review

I connected the C 399 to a pair of System Audio Saxo 5 powered bookshelf speakers and a JL Audio Dominion d-110 subwoofer via the C 399’s single-ended RCA pre-outs and one of its sub outs. To test the C 399’s internal amplifier, I connected the C 399’s speaker outputs to a pair of Polk audio bookshelves.

I mainly auditioned the C 399 by using the BlueOS app to stream music via Tidal, Qobuz, internet radio, and several connected USB thumb drives. To test the C 399’s ARC feature, I connected its HDMI eARC port to an LG OLED TV. My TV doesn’t support eARC, so I made do with the older HDMI ARC protocol, which is compatible with eARC.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/luxman-m-10x-power-amplifier

My final comparison was with the GoldenEar speakers, using the chamber orchestra version of Copland’s Appalachian Spring, which I had recorded live at the 1995 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. This was the first recording I made with the microphone array that was to become my go-to for live recording projects: a central ORTF pair of cardioids flanked by two omnidirectionals, with the outputs of the two pairs time-aligned in the mix. The cardioids give a stable, accurate stereo image with the omnis adding low-frequency bloom. From the hushed opening through to the joyful “Simple Gifts” melody, the Luxman and Parasounds both produced the clear, stable image of the orchestra in Santa Fe’s St. Francis Auditorium that I had worked to create. Both amplifiers correctly placed the woodwinds and piano behind the strings, and the occasional cough from the audience was placed well back in the soundstage with both the Luxman and Parasounds. The presentation of the cellos and basses was similarly articulate. I was hard put to choose one model of amplifier over the other.

If it hasn’t already become apparent to the reader of this review, I will state clearly my take-home. The First Watt F8 is not only a great all-around amplifier, it’s also quite a triumph of design. Nelson Pass has again succeeded in designing something that is different enough from its stable mates to be truly interesting and enjoyable while still pushing the envelope of amplifier design and implementation.

While I love both the F7 and the SIT 3 for that unique listening experience each can provide, I find the First Watt F8 to be the almost perfect all-around amplifier for the two stereophonic setups that I spend most of my time enjoying. That it can be swapped between two such different speaker systems and still provide an equally satisfying and engrossing listening experience is remarkable.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/moonriver-audio-model-404-reference-integrated-amplifier

Play Carmen Gomes, Inc.’s latest album, Ray! [Sound Liaison SL1052A; DXD], and the sheer intimacy of Gomes’s voice, accompanied by no more than guitar, bass and drums – or indeed just bass on ‘The Sun Is Gonna Shine Again’ – makes for a compelling listen, the amp working with source and speakers to give a real ‘artists in the room’ effect.

There’s no overt ‘hi-finess’ here, but instead an honest, rich and enveloping sound from boogie to sweeping orchestra to sultry jazz. While some will wish for more power, a headphone socket, or even a functioning USB input, the 404 Reference still offers a refreshing alternative to amplifiers with more obvious physical size and swagger.

NAD has produced a component that is almost the unicorn of audio products. It is a streamer, a top-quality DAC, an amplifier (and pre-amp), dual sub outs and with BluOS, a plethora of streaming services at your command. HDMI allows for a simple home theater set up. The screen is customizable and easy to use and see from across the room. Besides all the great sound, the NAD M10 V2 is just fun to use. Highly recommended!

ZZ Top bass player Dusty Hill sadly passed away toward the end of my listening, so I paid my respects by putting Tejas [Warner Bros] on the turntable and allowing the Rega Aphelion 2’s stylus to work its way across side A to the fabulous ‘Enjoy and Get it On’. The needle was sufficiently warmed by the third track for the raw sound of the band’s precision boogie to really get under my skin and by the time the desired track came around it was smoking, Billy Gibbons’ guitar delivering a scorching solo over the perfectly synched rhythms of Hill and drummer Frank Beard. With a digital source supplying a line level signal you get a bit more detail and finesse than the onboard DAC with equally impressive timing but in truth the result wasn’t dramatically superior to the onboard converter, and that, for a £2.5k component, is a decent result.