Gadgetory

hey I'm Matthew Muscovy AK from C net and today we're taking a look at the NAD D 30 20 this is a compact stereo integrated amplifier that's currently selling for five hundred dollars the NAD is a sleek looking piece of equipment it's wonderfully compact standing just 2.3 inches tall and you have the option to use it lying flat or turned up on its side there are no buttons on the front when you power it on the front panel display lights up with crisp white lettering there are two touch sensitive buttons on the side for power and selecting inputs and that's not an ideal location for the buttons but you're usually going to be using the remote anyway the coolest thing is that if you're willing to go with the stereo setup instead of surround sound this small box can replace a full sized AV receiver and it'll end up looking a lot better in your TV cabinet now unlike a lot of integrated amps the remote has a nice size to it and it's comfortable to hold the only problem is that the button labels are the same color as the buttons which makes them very difficult to see especially in a dim home theater on the upside you can turn the amp on and off via the remote which is actually a feature that's missing from a lot of competitors around back are the audio inputs including two digital inputs an analog input and one mixed use input that can function either as an analog input or an optical input as long as you have the right adapter cable now that's plenty of connectivity even for living room use as long as you use your TV to switch between devices and connect the TV's audio output right to the amp even better the NAD also has built-in Bluetooth with support for the better sounding app X codec so it's dead simple to wirelessly stream audio from nearly any mobile device it's also nice that there's a dedicated subwoofer output on the back so you can use the d30 20 and a 2.1 speaker setup without too much fuss you'll also notice there's a USB input so you can directly connect a computer and if you have the right software this amp can also support high resolution on files we also had resident audio file steve guttenberg give the nad a listen and he was seriously impressed he compared it head-to-head with the Teac aho one and the NAD consistently came out on top with a more natural sound and a better defined sound stage both amps sound great and have plenty of power for most living rooms but the NAD definitely had the edge in our subjective listening tests the only major issue with the d30 20 is the price $500 feels a little expensive especially when you can get the full-size Sony strd NH 40 for $400 and that has six HDMI inputs plus built-in Bluetooth Wi-Fi and airplay but ultimately you're paying for the d30 20s compact design and simplicity and we think that's a worthwhile trade-off for many buyers that just don't want to deal with the hassle of a full sized AV receiver and don't need surround sound so if you're convinced that a compact integrated amplifier is the right choice for your living room the NAD 3020 is the one to get with a sleek design a great set of features and excellent sound quality I'm Matthew moscovia and this is the NAD d30 20