NAD M2 versus Devialet D-Premier

To Doug Schneider,

I am a regular reader of your online magazine. I have read your review of the Devialet D-Premier a couple of times and recently it has been chosen as a Recommended Reference Component. I want to purchase some hi-fi gear soon. I am thinking of buying only one amplifier: that is the NAD M2 Direct Digital. Not only did some magazines give it high marks, they also compared it with some amplifiers at twice the price of the M2.

I found that the M2 simply beats them. I heard more detail, more transparency, and [it sounded] more dynamic and natural. Others are good, but it seems to me that there are some foggy things between the listeners and speakers: not everything is making it through.

I am wondering how the M2 would compare with the Devialet D-Premier, regarding the sound quality. They are both digital amps with textbook low distortion. I am not talking about the functions and styles of the two: the Devialet D-Premier is three times of price of M2, and certainly offers more functions and is more stylish than the M2.

It will be very appreciative if you can give some comparisons of the sound quality of the two. There is no way to compare the NAD M2 with Devialet D-Premier locally.

Thanks,
Jim Xing

That’s an excellent question but, unfortunately, is not one that I can answer. We didn’t get the M2 in for review and I’m the only one on our staff who has heard the D-Premier. What we’re hoping to get in for review the moment it’s released is the NAD C 390DD that debuted in Munich in May (see our coverage on SoundStageGlobal.com) and is scheduled to hit the market in August. It's a lower-priced version of the M2.

I will add some of my own thoughts, though. I saw other reviews of the M2 when it came out and it certainly piqued my interest and made me wonder, “Is it really that good?” It wasn’t until I got the D-Premier and heard firsthand what it could accomplish that I realized that it’s possible that some of these new-generation amplifiers are a big step ahead sound-wise. Is it possible that the M2 is better than some of its competition that’s double the price? It wouldn’t surprise me. Is it in the same league as the D-Premier? That I certainly don’t know. . . . Doug Schneider