It seems like one the products you liked the most of all the reviews I saw from you (which were a lot). For those that are not familiar with your rating system halfway of setup 1a is very high. It's really nice to know that there a one box solution that really delivers on sounds quality and has allmost every feature one can ever need. Thank you!!

Thank you Hans! I would love if you could review the T+A R2500R. A very similar syereophile all-in-one combined!!

After last years' Spotify Connect patch for "high res", my M33 started clipping, only on certain bass heavy songs, and only on Spotify Connect, not on Spotify via Bluetooth or other apps. I opened a BluOS ticket, did various troubleshooting for them, re measure all several times using different gain settings in the Dirac software, full resets...nothing helped. When it first happened I was playing dubstep, pretty loud, like 90dB in the main seat. It sounded like a crystal vase dropped next to my ears, my woofers almost blew out. I was terrified. I didn't trust the M33 any longer and I sold it. If it would have killed my Kanta no3's, I would have probably crushed it with a hammer. I did love its precision and bass handling though, such a shame. Currently I'm playing with separate streamer/pre amp and amplifier from HiFi Rose. A little warmer, more peace of mind :D Edit : typo's

Great review Hans. When you say the M33 isn’t as “refined” as your Ayre, what do you mean? How do the two amps compare in other ways? Thanks

Thanks Hans. What a beauty. It's bizarre...3 reviews about the amp had 3 things in common...1 of the reviews: "Across all the input types, despite its high power rating, the NAD doesn't really have the "punch" I had hoped for. The default setting is 50% volume (-40db), and at that level, you can barely hear the output from 6 -8 feet away. Most of the time I was running at 70-80% volume to get reasonable output. Overall the amp was "cold" - a sterile sound.. unlike the warmth and gravitas of the Classe fifteen amp I had been using (and which I compared it to). Highs were too bright, and sometimes harsh, lows were pretty weak." How is this possible?

Hi Hans,

Thanks for yet another great overview and review!

You said the NAD finds itself somewhere halfway system 1a. That makes me wonder, if you could from notes and memory, how its streaming, digital and preamp section compare to the TEAC UD-701N. Do they perform comparably, and if you did not have a desire for a screen, nor room correction, would the 701 possibly be a better choice powered by an amplifier costing €2-3000?

Kind regards,
Tom

I have the M10 V3, which I quite like. One gripe I have is that I can’t realistically use it as a DAC or preamp for a headphone amp unless I physically disconnect the speakers. The speaker outputs are always active no matter what, so the pre-outs aren’t convenient to use.

Anyway, what’s your opinion on buying a UMIK-1 calibration microphone instead of using the included one for DIRAC setup?

Hello Hans and it's good to see you hale and hearty.

What do you think of the fact that all sources are processed digitally on the M33? Theoretically, the phono section should just pass on the characteristics of the cartridge - or at least the frequency response curve and transients. The question is whether the tonal characteristics will be lost, whatever magic dust those are made of.  ;)

My biggest concern is Lenbrook's generally unresponsiveness to issues. For instance, my old M10's display would "wash out" and it was never fixed by their firmware update and there was no guarantee that a repair would fix that. It wasn't an uncommon problem for the V2. It seems like the more resources a company has, the more vitrified it becomes. Maybe that's just nature. One exception is McIntosh. They are slow to add new technologies, but they do seem to love their customers, unlike companies like Naim, Yamaha and Lenbrook.

Another great review. Thank you!

Can owners of the first version have it upgraded to the second? It is not that old.

Master, I have an off-topic question. Regarding the sound system, I've improved the acoustics in my listening room. I want to upgrade my speaker cables. How should I choose? There are ChatGPT preferences. It's a marketing gimmick. 😂 Copper? Copper with silver plating? Some say pure copper cable.

I have the V1 and it pretty much killed me hifi hobby, it sounds better than carefully chosen separates I had before. And it sounds better with its own dac and streamer than with external ones. So it's expensive but it's a complete package, just add speakers. You probably don't remember the V1, you reviewed it a long time ago but I would be curious to know how much better the V2 is. Personally, I might look for a change when the V4 comes along lol. But I'm a huge fan, I don't think I could do much better in my room and not for the amount of money the m33 costs (which is still a lot).

Member of the Finance Committee 😂 stopping Audio Nirvana! Not for me!