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