A New Classic

NAD C 399 integrated amplifier

- By Howard Kneller

WHILE WAITING on the arrival of NAD's C 399 integrated amplifier for review, I checked it out on the company's website. What I saw there was a minimally adorned exemplar of the black-box design school, with steel chassis panels of ordinary fabrication and a small display showing mostly monochrome text. Yawn. Well, a funny thing happened when the C 399 finally arrived, and I unboxed it. I took a shine to its no-frills, understatedly handsome looks. Sure, there are more striking-looking components out there with more robust build quality, but they'll cost you.

The C 399 ($2,548 as tested, $1,999 in its base configuration) also surprised me with its plentiful features. It contains a phono stage, headphone output, HDMI eARC port, two-way aptX Bluetooth connectivity, and two sets each of speaker and subwoofer outputs. Adding NAD's optional MDC2 BluOS-D module ($549), which slides into one of two slots on the C 399's rear panel, brings, among other things, app-controlled internet and local network streaming and Dirac Live Limited Bandwidth room correction.

FEATURES

NAD's integrated amps are comprised of three series: the budget-friendly Classic, the diminutive Desktop (aka Digital), and the flagship Master. Infused with a generous heap of the Master series' DNA, the C 399 is top-dog of the Classic series.