NAD 218 THX -- Affordable muscle for your stereo
Written: Apr 27 '01
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Pros: No frills, killer power amp for heavy loads.
Cons: Upper midrange a tad bit edgy when hooked up to a revealing system.
The Bottom Line: A powerful 225 wpc amp that suits a wide range of loudspeakers and listeners. A good choice for those not inclined toward tube power amps.
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| tubehead's Full Review: NAD 218THX 2-Channel Amplifier |
I admit that there is a mystique in owning so-called "muscle" gear. Anyone who ever visits a high-end audio salon can't help but to admire those huge mega-watt power amps that are on display. Those large faceplates, the thick handles, the bristling heatsinks. Owning and displaying one of these babies in your home system gives you an idea of what an owner of a 429 Cobra-Jet powered Mustang feels like when people see it for the first time. You know you own something that is special, something that is more than powerful for any task, and (best of all), you are the envy of everyone else.
But are "Ampzillas" practical? Well, no one ever said that a gas-guzzling 300 hp Pony was practical for going to the neighborhood grocery or picking up Junior from soccer practice. You can say pretty much the same thing about megawatt power amps. Unless you own power hungry loudspeakers or you are trying to fill a listening space the size of Carnegie Hall, why bother buying a costly and heavy amp that delivers 200 or 300 watts when you will probably need only a small fraction of that power for the bulk of your listening session? Is it owner vanity? Is it overkill? A little of both?
Actually, I feel there is a practical need, depending on a person's systems and listening habits. If you're the type that likes to listen to music with sudden and tremendous tilts in volume, then it's nice to have an amp with a ready and capable reserve in power. 50-100 wpc amps may be adequate for most music, but if you try to play Stravinsky's "Rites of Spring" or Gustav Holst's "Planets" at anything approaching concert levels, medium powered amps can start to run out of gas during the more dramatic and demanding crescendos. Oh, they may deliver the volume, but such amps might not deliver the same focus and clarity that you hear on the softer passages. Higher-powered amps can prevent a sharp and well-delineated aural image of an orchestra into becoming a congested mass of sound on triple forte parts. Yes, for some people, there is no such thing as overkill when it comes to power.
Which brings me to the subject of this review. The NAD 218THX is a two-channel, 225 wpc power amp. It has everything you expect from a solid-state powerhouse. The carrying handles on the front. The heatsinks on the side. A single button on the front (on/off). Like most NAD gear, the 218THX sports a metallic brown color.
There are a couple of switches on the back. (Indicator lights for both switches are on the front.) One switches between stereo and mono operation. (NAD claims it can put out 780 watts in mono continuously.) There is also the "soft clipping" switch, which supposedly protects speakers from being damaged when pushed at higher levels. A couple of audio mag reviewers claim that the soft clipping circuit audibly dulls the full attack of recordings. Personally speaking, I can't detect any difference when I played the same music with and w/o the soft clipping engaged. Maybe I need to play it louder in order to hear a difference. But if so, it's a volume level that I would rather not listen to.
How does this NAD sound? When hooked up to Paradigm Studio 100 loudspeakers, a Rega Planet CD player, and an Audio Research SP-11 preamp, the NAD sounds like, well, a typical solid-state amp. I don't mean that as a criticism. It does what an amp is supposed to do. Power the speakers and to impose as little of its "character" on the sound as possible. On both loud and soft recordings, on chamber orchestra to full-size symphonies, the NAD presents the recordings accurately. In terms of tonality, it is more neutral than any of the tube power amps in my possession. And like other high-powered SS amps, it retains its focus and clarity throughout the loudness spectrum. Because of its considerable power reserves, it can handle most any type of speaker load and higher than sane volume levels without breaking a sweat.
So is it a perfect amp? Well, for those that like to hear their orchestras and heavy-metal bands at close to concert levels (and then some), the NAD 218THX may just be the ticket you need without breaking the bank. But for those whose idea of enjoyment is listening to smaller ensemble and acoustic music at moderate levels, you can do better. Compared to other tube power amps in my possession (Audio Research D-115, McIntosh MC275, Dynaco ST-35), the upper midrange sounds just a bit dry. Guitars and soprano vocals have an "edge" that I don't hear in real life performances. It's not an overly obvious or irritating shortcoming, by any means. But if you're fussy and listen for intricate details like I do, then you can do better than this NAD. OK, so maybe the midrange warmth and richness that I hear from tubes are a coloration. But to my ears, it's a coloration that sounds more natural. Finally, although the NAD has a wide soundstage, its depth is compressed and more two-dimensional than three. But this is a general criticism that I have with most other SS amps compared to their tube brethren.
If your listening tastes are similar to mine, is there any way to make the NAD sound more "tubelike"? Since the ARC SP-11 is an very revealing tube preamp, I decided to pair the NAD with "warmer" sounding tube preamps, like the Conrad-Johnson PV10AL and the McIntosh C22. Lo and behold, much of the midrange glare was alleviated. But if you're extremely strapped for dollars or you're allergic to tubes, then the best solid-state alternative I've heard with the 218THX was the NAD 114 preamp. With the above preamps, the NAD's soundstage stretched somewhat deeper, but there's still no mistaking it for tubes.
When all is said and done, I would rather have one of my tube amps in the system. But this is just me. I'm not so close-minded as to not see and appreciate the virtues of the NAD 218THX. It's an affordable, all-purpose amp that will suit a wide range of systems, listening tastes, and applications.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 999
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Epinions.com ID:
tubehead
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Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
All of the following: High school teacher, baseball fan, loving husband, and child of God.
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