Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.
The recent news that Harman is acquiring Masimo Consumer Audio’s old Sound United brands—Denon, Marantz, Bowers & Wilkins, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, the Professor and Mary Ann—has me thinking a lot lately about how brands maintain anything resembling a unique identity when they’re all owned and controlled by the same corporate overlords. Interestingly, though, there’s one company that has already figured out how to cater to very different hi-fi enthusiasts at similar price points, and to see what I mean, just consider three different NAD integrated amplifiers all selling for around 2000 USD (at least as I write this in the middle of May 2025).
First, you have the C 389 ($1999), a sleek chassis that looks simultaneously traditional and modern and has oodles of digital and analog inputs and an upgrade path to add BluOS streaming via a plug-in board. Then there’s my beloved C 3050 BluOS-D ($2199), which is a little sparser on analog inputs, but has a retro vibe with faux-wood cabinetry, streaming capabilities, and dancing VU meters that make my heart happy every time I see them wiggle. And if that doesn’t do it for you, there’s also the new C 700 V2 (US$1999, CA$2199, £1499, €1599), which looks like a working-class version of the company’s Master Series M10 V3 streaming integrated amplifier ($2999), with a similar design, similar-ish screen, same sleek remote control, and full-blown BluOS streaming functionality out of the box, no add-on boards needed.
The V2 in its name gives away the fact that this is an upgraded version of the company’s popular C 700, with the primary differences between the two being an upgraded DAC chip, specifically the ESS Sabre ES9028; swapping out one of the two line-level RCA ins for an MM phono stage; support for adding two BluOS speakers to unlock 4.1-channel Dolby surround-sound decoding and playback; and upcoming support for Dirac Live room correction, although when that comes via a firmware update, you’ll have to purchase the Dirac license and microphone separately.
Under the hood, it features Hypex UcD amp modules delivering 80Wpc into 8 ohms or 100Wpc into 4 ohms, and in addition to the aforementioned RCA inputs, it boasts a coaxial digital in, an optical digital in, an HDMI eARC port, a single subwoofer output, and 3.5mm ports for IR in and 12V trigger out. It also has drivers for all manner of home-automation systems.
Setting up and dialing in the NAD C 700 V2
I have, over the past few years, set up more than my fair share of BluOS-capable NAD integrated amplifiers, including the one I use as a reference, and I try my best to keep that familiarity in mind when digging into a new review, if only because that much experience gives me a leg up on the standard consumer who’s buying one of these things and setting it up for perhaps the first time in years. That said, configuring the C 700 V2 is such a plug-and-play experience that I can’t imagine anyone running into issues, other than perhaps being somewhat surprised by the fact that the model number reads “C700 V2” on the loading screen, without the space after the C that is more common in online listings and even the product manual.
Setup involved pulling the amp out of the box, connecting my Paradigm Studio 100 v.5 towers using a pair of SVS SoundPath Ultra speaker cables, plugging a CAT6 cable into the ethernet port, running an SVS SoundPath subwoofer cable to my SVS PB-1000 Pro subwoofer (and it occurs to me as I’m writing this that all of the above is starting to sound like a backdoor SVS advertisement smuggled into an NAD review, but what can I say?), and that was about that. Aside from toggling the sub output on in the BluOS Controller app, setting a crossover of 80Hz (on a scrollbar that ranges from 40Hz at the low end to 200Hz at the high end, in 10Hz increments), then toggling the sub out off again for the bulk of my testing, there wasn’t much to do.
And what I did have to configure was unique to the C 700 V2 in my experience with NAD gear (although one imagines it applies to the M10, as well). Since the remote control doesn’t feature direct input buttons, what you have to do if you want to switch legacy source inputs without digging into the BluOS app every day is open the app at least once and configure some presets. You can have up to ten, and they can be a mix of physical inputs, direct links to music services, or even automatic playback of playlists within those services.
I set up Preset 1 as a direct link to my U-Turn Orbit Theory turntable, and to my delight, when I switched to that input, the modern artwork-and-metadata screen was replaced by a pair of dancing VU meters, which legitimately made me giggle with glee.
I do wish there were some way to configure these settings using the remote and front-panel display. But then again, I think it’s safe to say that if you’re purchasing the C 700 V2 instead of any of the aforementioned NAD integrated amps in its price class, you’re in it for a very app-controlled experience, so I doubt many people will grumble.
How does the NAD C 700 V2 perform?
The C 700 V2 and my reference C 3050 both rely on Hypex UcD amp modules, with both specified to deliver 100Wpc into 4 ohms. The C 3050 also delivers 100Wpc into 8 ohms, whereas the C 700 V2 only delivers 80Wpc into equivalent loads, so there are obviously some differences in the implementation of those modules. There’s also a difference in DAC chips, with the C 3050 employing the Texas Instruments PCM5242 and the C 700 V2, as mentioned above, relying on the ESS Sabre ES9028, which puts a cap on its sample-rate support at 192kHz instead of the 384kHz max sample rate supported by the C 3050. But I don’t have any digital files with such a sample rate, so my ability to legitimately test what sort of sonic difference this might make was, of course, constrained.
That said, the sound that came out of the C 700 V2 as soon as I fired it up and pressed play on Soul Coughing’s “Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago” (Ruby Vroom: 30th Anniversary Edition, 24-bit/192kHz FLAC, Roundhill Records / Qobuz) was immediately familiar, and any differences in specifications between the two amps—a big one being the substantially lower 84dB signal-to-noise ratio of the C 700 V2—became academic.
The crunchy guitars that kick off the song rang through with all the tactile grit and textural transients I’m accustomed to hearing in my reference system. The bass loped with the same control and authority. The clicky percussion hovered in the air in the same spot between my speakers and just behind them, and Mike Doughty’s vocals cut through the mix with the same layered lack of image-specificity when appropriate and the same laser precision when it was needed to do justice to the original mix.
Throughout my time with this track, I fiddled a lot with the rather heavy volume knob to make sure the overall tonal balance stayed the same at every reasonable listening level, and unsurprisingly, it did. I really wasn’t able to push the volume much past the 78 percent mark, though, with most of my comfortable listening done at something more like 60 percent. So, in my roughly 12′ × 10′ two-channel listening room at least, with a seating position about six feet away from my speakers, the C 700 V2 had oodles of headroom.
Switching over to something a bit more delicate, I was pleased but unsurprised to hear how well the C 700 V2 handled “Bridges & Balloons” from Joanna Newsom’s The Milk-Eyed Mender (16/44.1 FLAC, Drag City / Qobuz). The attack and decay of Newsom’s fingers on her harp strings were spot-on, and the overall sense of space and placement of her voice and the plucked strings was unimpeachable. This is another one of those songs that I tend to use as a canary in the coalmine, because if there isn’t sufficient current or if the output impedance of the amps is too high (far less likely, but still), the bass—which is precisely enough but not a touch more—can start to get swallowed, and the mix can sound harshly thin at higher listening levels. The C 700 V2, by contrast, started to run me out of the room at around the 78 percent mark, and tonal balance was still chef’s-kiss perfection.
The delicate interplay between Newsom’s left- and right-hand strings was also rendered beautifully at every reasonable volume, and I found myself struck in the final 45 seconds of the track by the system’s transient response and the resulting expansiveness and precision of the soundstage and image. Nothing magical going on here, of course. This is simply what it sounds like when an integrated amplifier is doing all the right things and none of (or at least exceedingly few of) the wrong things.
It was at this point that I decided to switch over to the phono input, fully expecting it to sound no different from the phono stage of my C 3050. And in many respects, that expectation was justified. Tonal balance was, best I could hear, identical, leading me to the conclusion that RIAA equalization is also handled in the digital domain on the C 700 V2 (and why wouldn’t it be? It makes even more sense here). Listening to “The Dripping Tap” from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Omnium Gatherum (KGLW-013-2LP), I found it immediately obvious that there was no editorializing going on with the EQ. No boosted bass, no juiced high frequencies—it all simply sounded tonally correct.
But—and this is a big but—I had to absolutely crank the volume to get things up to a comfortable listening level, which, instead of being 60 to 65 percent, as it was with the digital inputs, was closer to 85 or 90 percent on the phono in. What’s more, the C 700 V2 shone a spotlight on a distinctive feature of my U-Turn Orbit Theory turntable that has never been an issue with my C 3050. The Theory doesn’t feature a grounding post, instead grounding on the left RCA channel. With my C 3050, that’s perfectly cromulent. With the C 700 V2, though, I was picking up audible electrical interference from my ceiling fan and the lamp over my turntable at any acceptable listening level.
Is this something that could be fixed with a firmware update? I honestly don’t know, but I do know that NAD fixed some gain issues I discovered and Diego confirmed when reviewing the original C 3050 LE, so perhaps the gain issues here can be resolved. As for the grounding issue, I’m less sure. If you’re pairing the C 700 V2 with a turntable, it should probably be one with a grounding post, though.
What other integrated amps might you consider in this class?
What other integrated amps you should consider really comes down to what drew you to a review of the C 700 V2 in the first place. Is it the form factor and emphasis on streaming connectivity? You might want to take a look at the Rotel S14 ($1999), which I reviewed a while back for Simplifi.
Or you could look at something like the WiiM Amp Pro ($399) if you don’t need or want as much legacy connectivity, or as much power, and don’t care about the screen.
If, on the other hand, what you’re interested in is an integrated amp that fits right into the BluOS multiroom ecosystem, I’d point you toward my beloved NAD C 3050 BluOS-D if you dig the retro skin and want a few more physical inputs, or the NAD C 379 BluOS-D ($1899) if you’re not into VU meters and want something a bit more traditionally modern in its design.
TL;DR: Is the NAD C 700 V2 worth the money?
The two biggest selling points that NAD touts with regard to the C 700 V2 are its upgraded DAC chip and its phono input. I’m not sure how much difference the former makes, but the latter has a few issues that make me wish the amp still had two line-level inputs so I could bring my own phono pre to the equation, although—as I said above—that could change with a firmware update.
Still, despite the fact that the upgrades are of questionable significance, I never got to play around with the original C 700, and I’m finding myself digging this form factor, even if it’s ultimately not exactly the vibe I’m going for with my stereo system. The screen is easy enough to read from a reasonable distance, the BluOS integration is, needless to say, seamless, and the amp delivers oodles more oomph than you might expect from looking at its specifications.
So, yeah, as long as you’re not super-invested in vinyl playback and can forgive the fact that its phono input might leave you wanting more, there’s a lot to love about the C 700 V2. But more than anything else, I really just appreciate the fact that NAD is able to offer so many meaningfully different experiences at similar or equivalent price points. That’s a neat trick, to be sure.
. . . Dennis Burger
dennisb@soundstagenetwork.com
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.
Associated Equipment
- Speakers: Paradigm Studio 100 v.5
- Subwoofer: SVS PB-1000 Pro
- Sources: Maingear Vybe PC; iPhone 16 Pro Max; U-Turn Orbit Theory turntable; Oppo BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc player
- Speaker cables: SVS SoundPath Ultra
- Power conditioner: SurgeX XR115
NAD C 700 V2 streaming integrated amplifier
Prices: US$1999, CA$2199, £1499, €1599
Warranty: Two years parts and labor, non-transferrable
NAD Electronics
The Lenbrook Group
633 Granite Court
Pickering, ON, Canada
L1W 3K1
Phone: (905) 831-6555
Website:nadelectronics.com
