At CES, NAD added three Masters Series audio components, complementing its acclaimed M2 Digital Direct Amplifier.

The M50 Digital Music Player (shown at top of story) has a CD/DVD transport and built-in Wi-Fi networking. It can stream music off computers or NAS drives on the local network, and from storage device connected to its USB input. It can play CDs and DVDs, and also rip CDs. Supported formats include FLAC Lossless, MP3, AAC, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, and linear PCM to 192kHz/24-bit. The M50 will be available in March for $2,500.

Users can store ripped files on the M50 on networked and USB devices, or on the companion M52 Digital Music Vault. The latter component contains three two-terabyte hard drives in RAID 5 configuration, optimized for both performance and redundancy. The drives are low-noise units designed for media, and the component itself is fanless, for quiet operation. The M52 also arrives in March, at $2,200.

Playback on the M50 and M52 can be controlled by a very nice iPad and iPhone apps, which controls the Masters Series components over a local network. The app will integrate music from multiple sources (Music Vault, NAS, computer etc.) under a single interface.

The M51 Direct Digital DAC just began shipping, for $2,000. Along with optical and coaxial digital-audio inputs, it has a USB input that conforms to the USB Audio Class 2 specification, indicating its ability to support 192kHz/24-bit content. (NAD's current M2 Direct Digital Amplifier lacks USB connectivity, which is becoming increasingly important in digital audio.) There are also balanced and single-ended analog inputs, plus two HDMI inputs and an HDMI output. A two-channel device, the M51 does not do surround-sound processing. But via HDMI, it will capture and process two-channel audio from DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, and pass video (including 3D) to a connected monitor. Incoming audio from all sources is converted to an 844kHz pulse-width-modulation (PWM) stream. Volume is controlled in the digital domain, with 35-bit precision. Even with high-resolution 24-bit content, volume can be reduced to -66dB before any bits are truncated.

NAD's sister company PSB introduced a new speaker at CES. The Imagine T2 is a full three-way tower speaker, borrowing technology from PSB's flagship Synchrony series. It takes its place in the line above the slightly smaller 2.5-way Imagine T, which stays in the line. No Canadian pricing yet; but Imagine T2 will retail in the U.S. for approximately $3,000 per pair in black ash. Premium finishes (gloss black, gloss white, walnut, cherry) will be available for a 10% premium.

Article Tags:  NAD, CES, Masters Series, M51, DAC, digital, preamp, M50, CD, DVD, NAS, PC, USB, M52, music vault