By Anika Hillery
Tapping into what seems to be the new trend for home AV receivers, NAD is returning to its hi-fi enthusiast roots and releasing a separate pre- and power-amp matching combo dubbed the T175 and T975 respectively.
Separating the two means you keep the massive heat output from the power amp from the more sensitive pre-amplifier processes.
Inheriting much of the technology benefits of the company’s ‘reference’ Master Series, the T175 ($2,499) and T975 ($3,499) surround sound products are built around a removable card design that allows future upgrades and simple, quick field servicing.
The T175 features video switching of HDMI, component video, S-Video and composite video, plus upconversion of component, S-Video and composite to output via HDMI. With the addition of further speakers, owners can enjoy music in up to 4 zones – there’s even a separate second zone remote in the box (signals that can be transmitted via remote infra-red sensors) and an RS232 data port for connection to advanced automatic control systems.
For iPod fans, an optional NAD iPod dock allows playback through the T175 and, better still, the iPod’s playlist information will be displayed on the unit’s onscreen display.
A 39 kg beast, the T975 power amplifier produces 7 x 140 watts continuous power into 8 ohms, all channels independently driven.
