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 film sound by driving laboratory test-loads, they do it by driving loudspeakers. And loudspeakers, whether labelled 8Ù or 4Ù in “nominal impedance,” are far more challenging. A speaker that “looks like” an 8Ù resistor at some frequencies will show 4ohm at others, and often, 3ohm or even 2ohm 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 but 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 enhanced internal voltage levels whenever unusual demands approach: 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—one that happens in 1/50,000th of a second.

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