NAD C399 Hybrid Digital DAC Amplifier $1999 Review

During the evaluation period two audiophile friends dropped in to listen a few times, both of whom have outstanding systems. The first was so impressed he asked if I could bring the C399 over so that he could hear it in his system, which consists in electronics that total over four times the price of the NAD. The other, who is into extremely expensive equipment, was so gobsmacked by what he heard as to leave him totally shaken, mumbling how that level of performance could come out of a unit this unpretentious in size, weight, appearance, and price. He visited again a week later, then again a few weeks after that, each time departing in a similar state of disbelief. Let me reassure you that with both friends, and myself, our reactions are most definitely not an instance of Dr. Johnson’s dancing dog—you know, it’s not that the dance is so good, it’s that a dog is doing it.