Full Disclosure Power Ratings
Inflated power specifications have been used to “sell” receivers as
long as there have been receivers to sell. But not at NAD. Instead,
we encourage our customers take a clear-eyed look at the real
issues.
Receivers don’t make music and filmsound by driving laboratory
test-loads, they do it by driving loudspeakers. And loudspeakers,
whether labeled 8Ω or 4Ω in “nominal impedance,” are far more
challenging. A speaker that “looks like” an 8Ω resistor at some
frequencies will show 4Ω at others, and often, 3Ω or even 2Ω at
still others. Furthermore, actual loudspeaker loads are far more
complex than simple test resistors. What does all this mean?
Simply, that power on paper is a poor predictor of “how loud,” “how
dynamic,” “how musical.”
Nevertheless, in a competitive market comparisons will be made.
But when you make them, read the fine print—all of it. At NAD
we test under the most demanding, “worst-case” conditions,
reporting the minimum power output we achieve at any frequency
within human audibility (full audible bandwidth of 20Hz-20kHz),
and with all channels driven and fully stressed simultaneously at
clearly specified, vanishingly low distortion. Many competitors do
not: they often quote single-frequency power (1 kHz) reflecting at
most one “associated channel” (maximum 2 channels) dominating
the receiver’s power supply—often under a variety of deceptive
power headings. And if distortion is stated at all it’s usually at quite
high levels: 0.5 percent, 1 percent—in one case, 10 percent! — it’s
easy to print big numbers that simply do not tell the true story. The
bottom line: don’t be fooled by specs; let your ears be the judge.
PowerDrive™
This keystone of the NAD receivers’ amp-section design underpins
the unique dynamic potential of every model. PowerDrive’s
foundation is a “dual-rail” power supply that delivers optimized
internal voltage levels especially during the most demanding
conditions: dynamic peaks, big musical transients, deep-bass
excursions that drive a loudspeaker into its most power-hungry
impedance range. It’s a little like the “kickdown” of a sophisticated
automatic transmission - providing distortion-free current on
demand.
PowerDrive is one big reason why NAD AV receivers do not exhibit
the dynamic compression, flattened imaging, and even tinges of
harshness audiophiles so often decry as “receiver sound.” And
PowerDrive not only makes NAD receivers sound better, it makes
them cooler running, more efficient, and more reliable as well.
Performance
Today’s advanced Surround Sound receivers require quality in
the digital decoding stages, the video processing section, and
in the power amplifier design for the best overall performance.
The T785 is an excellent example of the NAD Design Team’s
expertise in all three areas. Not only that, but we have made many
ergonomic refinements to simplify operation and make it more
enjoyable to get all the performance this magnificent receiver is
capable of delivering.
Using the latest 32 bit Dual Core Floating Point DSP technology,
NAD was able to include the most popular surround formats from
Dolby and DTS, as well as including NAD’s own highly regarded
music surround mode; EARS. Unlike, the typical artificially
enhanced DSP modes like “Club”, “Stadium”, and “Church”, EARS
uses DSP technology to extract the natural ambience of the
recording. This is redirected to the surround channels to create
natural surround sound from any 2 channel source. This induces
a warm natural reverberant effect without the “BOING” of artificial
reverb. The surround mode of the source material is automatically
detected via the digital inputs of the T785, and the “highest” or
most advanced form of decoding is switched on. Conversion of
the encoded digital bitstream is performed with high resolution
and extremely linear Burr-Brown 24 bit/192kHz D/A Converters
carefully selected for their performance capabilities. The T785
uses five two-channel DACs rather than the usual single 8 channel
DAC favored by many of today’s surround sound receivers. We
have found that the sonic performance of the two-channel DACs
used in a dual differential mode, is well worth the extra cost of this
configuration.
NAD’s reputation for producing power amplifiers that are both
potent and musical is upheld in fine manner with the T785.
Boasting a minimum of 120 watts continuous power per channel,
the T785 can fill even very large rooms to lifelike sound levels.
Credit for the sound of NAD’s components rests squarely with our
unique design approach and our experienced and very talented
design team. Most companies design their products to a technical
specification and a price point. While this sounds logical enough,
it does not address the way the product will actually be used by
the eventual owner. You don’t listen to specifications, you listen to
music and sound. While NAD products exhibit excellent technical
measurements, we have relied on our own ears and listening
experience to determine the final design of our products. Because
of our unique design approach, NAD’s sound is simply more “real”,
adding enjoyment and excitement to your favorite films and music
recordings.
Flexibility
The T785 has all the flexibility required to serve as the command
center for even the most sophisticated Home Theater and multi-
room systems. A full suite of video switching caters to all the
popular video formats (HDMI, Component Video, S-Video, and
Composite Video). The T785 uses the very latest V1.3 HDMI chips
from Analog Devices. All input resolutions (480, 576, 720, and
1080) are supported at the output. All analog formats are cross
converted between Composite, S-Video and Component. These
analog inputs are also up-converted to HDMI output. Digital inputs
(including a handy front panel input) and outputs are available
in both coaxial and optical formats to make it easy to attach all
your digital sources for playback and recording. Digital Inputs are
converted to analog for multi-zone applications.
With the T785, NAD has made it easy to add more speakers for
listening to music in additional rooms or “zones”. A second pair of
speakers can simply be added to the front channel amplifiers and
switched on or off from the remote control or front panel switch.
More elaborate systems can also be created using the Zone 2,
3 and 4 outputs to add additional amplifiers and speakers with
