CEDIA 2019 is just around the bend and NAD usually picks early-September to drop some goodies on the home theater and custom installation market. It’s already been a very busy year for NAD with a number of important releases including the M10 network amplifier currently under review by DailyHiFi’s Ron Brenay, and the D 3045 Hybrid Digital Amplifier which is under review at Chez White. The home theater market is facing some stiff headwinds with soundbar sales making a serious dent in the AVR category, but that isn’t the type of thing to deter the folks at NAD who have just announced the release of the new T 778 flagship AVR which will retail for $2,999.95 USD.
NAD knows a lot about building great sounding power amplifiers, but they face stiff competition from Denon, Marantz, Pioneer, Yamaha, and Onkyo in the AVR category — most consumers do not spend $3,000 on an AVR anymore.
Support for Dolby Atmos, DTS Master Audio, Dirac Live, and the 9 channels (100 watts/channel) of amplification will make this an easier sell with custom installers whose customer base want something like the T 778’s slim profile 3U rack-mount chassis. The T 778 also features a bit-perfect UHD 4K pass-through for better picture quality with your fancy 4K OLED.
NAD has wisely integrated the touch panel display of the M10 in the T 778 ditching some of the front panel buttons that made older NAD AVRs harder to use.
From the press release:
“The T 778 packages that sound quality with the most compelling digital technologies such as BluOS, MQA, Bluetooth aptX HD, and Dirac Live in a user-friendly format.”
Key Features of the NAD T 778:
• 9 channels of NAD’s latest Hybrid Digital Amplifier Technology • New touch screen and improved ergonomics for user-friendly operation • 4K UHD video pass-through • High-Res BluOS enabled Network Streaming • Two-Way Bluetooth aptX HD • Dirac Live Room Correction • DirectDigital DAC- ESS Saber DAC with MQA Decoding MQA decoding available on all digital inputs • AirPlay2 • MDC (Modular Design Construction) offers ability to upgrade to future digital formats as they become available. Two MDC slots provided. • CI friendly- RS232 Serial Control Port. Trigger In/Out. • IR In with learning function
The NAD T 778 AVR will be available from dealers in November.
For more information: https://nadelectronics.com
