NAD M15HD Surround Sound Processor - Page 3

You will be saving money on a new T175HD not an M15HD. They are different performance brackets, not just price. Upgrading a T175 will bring you up to spec with a new T175HD - this where you are saving.


Yes, the T175 in standard guise will definitely accept LPCM. 7.1, I'm not sure. I would assume so but cannot give a definite answer as I can't remember a disc I own that has a lossless 7.1 track. My Blu-Ray player converts DTS-MA and TruHD to LPCM and the T175 has no problem with that.

Question about the regular, older M15. Nobody is answering in any of the other NAD threads and I figure somebody here will know since some of you own the M15.

When switching between sources or switching off of mute, does your M15 make any noise at all through your system? Not internal to the unit, but through the speakers...

I recently picked up a used M15 and it has an audible noise when switching mute off or between inputs. Nothing horrible, cant really even describe the nose as a "click", but certainly can hear something. Not certain if it's normal or not as I don't have another M15 to compare to.

My S170 had an internal relay that clicked when coming out of mute but nothing heard through the speakers.

thanks all!

My M15 makes no noise at all when switching from mute or between sources.
Ever....

Been a rock solid unit with great sound.

Rick

It might be a little voltage that gets sent down the line to your speakers. Totally normal and won't hurt anything, but I think it is fixable if it is bothering you.

I've been browsing the NAD web site looking at the information now posted on the HD versions of both the M15 and T175. There seem to be more similarities than differences, and I assume they use the same audio and video modules.

Any speculation on what, if any audible differences there will be between the M15HD and T175HD when fed the same HDMI digital inputs?

It looks like they both have the same video processing capability. Is that correct?

The M15HD lists Audyssey XT Pro, and describes that as "Audyssey XT Pro must be professionally calibrated by a specially trained professional sound engineer." This is consistent with earlier reports.

I could not find a reference to Audyssey XT Pro on the Audyssey web site. Does anyone know if that includes Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume? Any idea if Audyssey MultEQ XT is a subset of XT Pro; i.e., can an owner do their own calibration as a less capable alternative to a Pro calibration?

Thanks
Bruce

Here are new listings for both new models on the NAD website:
T175HD
http://nadelectronics.com/products/h...amplifier-(HD)

M15HD
http://nadelectronics.com/products/h...d-Preamplifier

man, I really want a new M15HD ! Wonder how much I can get for my T175?

Yeah, I am looking forward to checking this out. The M15 has some nice touches that I am sure will carry over to the M15HD.

The ability to increase volume for the center speaker only on the fly has been great. Not always, but there have been a couple of movies where the dialog seemed soft and at times hard to hear. It is a nice touch to increase volume for the center, L/R or rears seperately from the remote and then when the unit goes into stand-by mode it goes back to my original settings. This is really great for those every now and then movies where center dialog is very soft and you want a slight increase in volume without screwing with your adjustments and also don't want the increase in L/R and rears.

The dual sub hook-up with extensive bass management has been great as well.

The M15 is my first sperate pre/pro and I don't know if these couple of features are standard for most pre/pros these days but it is nice. Not to mention sound quality for HT and Stereo.

Add all of the new options and it could be a giant killer.

Rick

I don't see any mention of Audyssey Dynamic EQ & volume, just XT pro.

yeah, like M-Series sound-quality


funny you mention this feature, I use this quite often on my T175. Many titles have issues with dialog not being properly balanced. So I typically dial-in 1dB, which can make that little difference.


The T175 is my first pre-pro as well (that I researched and purchased). Years ap my Dad gave me his SAE separates (when he switched to a Nakamichi set-up), I was like 17 years old Did'nt realized what I had, although I appreciated the sound-quality.


yes, I think so as well.

Although, I'm expecting some units to exhibit "popping" issues as with the T175 and other brand/models- maybe, maybe not? However I do expect NAD to have these problems resolved and refined at some point (crazy as this sounds)

I know. But (I thought) the new audio and video cards include Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Volume?

I don't know. I hope it does. I have the Onkyo 886, and now that I have experienced Dynamic volume, there is no going back for me.

I would also like to know more details of the Audyssey XT Pro implementation in the M15HD.

Regarding Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume, the NAD web site says this is included in the T175HD with MultEQ XT. It would seem illogical for the more expensive M15HD not to include that as well.

The web site information for the M15HD says "Audyssey XT Pro must be professionally calibrated by a specially trained professional sound engineer." I'm wondering if MultEQ XT is a subset of XT Pro such that the M15HD can be set up without a professional calibrator to a MultEQ XT, vice XT Pro, level of accuracy.

Thanks
Bruce

I thought I read somewhere that both, the T175HD and M15HD, share the same video and audio cards?

I heard the same thing, that they both use the 200 series audio and video cards.

But all I have are questions, not answers, on the differences between the two units and their implementations of Audyssey.

Bruce

That's simple; T175 has MultEQ XT + MultEQ XT Pro capability. M15HD only has MultEQ XT Pro. Why? Because T175 is used in more home theaters, whereas M15HD is for larger high end applications. Pro requires use of the Audyssey Pro Mic kit & EQ, somewhere around $3k extra; in most cases you have a dealer send a tech out to calibrate, but it can be done by a tech savvy & free spending end user as well.

XT is for up to 8 positions; Pro is up to 32; all depends how big a room you're setting up.

If this is true, it would mean you are also forced to use it this way, costing you more money to get the extra kit and have someone redo it everytime you change something.

Normallly when you have MultiEQ XT and its 'pro' enabled (3.0) you can as a bonus attach that and use it. This will allow you to do more but XT is still the base.

Sounds very weird to me they removed the internal setup gui, settings, feedback in one of the 2 models if they did its a negative not a positive since the 8 point 'fast' (about a hour) setup is a good place to start from when you start out with the unit.

Daniel.

This would be normal and how its been done on other pre/pro's and it makes most sense that it means the same for this unit. Users themselfs can use XT using the internal gui/remote with a supplied mic. You can then if you want buy the $500 kit from audyssey with extra/better mic's a license for pro and go into the pro 3.0 software. They only sell these kits to dealers or 'power-users' who can show they really know what they are talking about. The last demand is to keep support down on these kits.

Daniel.

The Pro kit is well under $1K. The standalone EQ is not needed.

Just to be clear what you mean Kal, This processor also allows you to use XT (8 points) from its gui/remote. And the Pro 3.0 is a option ?

Daniel.

The Audyssey Sound Equalizer is a stand-alone box which does NOT have MultEQ XT and which must be run with the external ProV3 setup kit. It will handle up to 32 mic positions. http://www.audyssey.com/technology/multEQ_products.html

The ProV3 can be used with any Pro-compatible MultEQ XT AVR or pre/pro, in which case the setup can accommodate up to 32 mic positions. Used without the ProV3 software, only 8 are accommodated. http://www.audyssey.com/technology/multEQPro.html

More in my several columns on the topic.

I see, so the M15HD's Audyssey configuration, out-of-the-box, will function just as the T175 does- providing 8-point EQ calibration?

I doubt it, based on the description at the NAD site as well as what I have been told.

Thanks i knew how they related but wanted to make it more clear and it seemed you had some inside info on this. So indeed it could be that this processor won't have any simple audyssey setup and demands pro setup. Not sure if that is smart from sales point of view not to give people a starting point but thats upto nad i guess. There is no doubt in my mind that the pro setup is way better but still its nice to have the option(s).

Daniel.

I questioned that, too. This seems to be a way to distinguish the 15HD from the 175HD but I do not think it the best way.

Agreed. I was considering the 15HD until I learned that I couldn't run Audyssey on my own.

My room is simple enough that I feel comfortable when using the consumer version of Audyssey that I am not missing out on too much.

But just as importantly, I switch out speakers or seating or treatments often enough that getting a professional calibrator to visit each time is not viable, and I'm not really interested in the pro kit for my own personal use.

It's a shame the 15HD is crippled in this manner.

I see, this seems odd.


exactly, especially in today's economy.


exactly. NAD should configure it to provide either method for Audyssey implementation.


interesting. Thanks Kal.

If you are seriously considering the 15HD, you might want to wait until is ships before dismissing it. It is pretty common for pre-release info/specs to be inaccurate.

Interesting info received straight from the source. Here is a reply I received from NAD in a discussion forum on their Facebook page:

It was a design decision not to include a microphone preamp in the high end M15HD product. Therefore Audyssey automated calibration is not available out of the box. In addition to the Audyssey Pro option there will be a kit available for purchase which includes a high quality preamp and microphone (better then what comes with thew T175HD) and will enable an end user to perform the Audyssey automatic calibration. The thought there being that most users will want to get this hi-end unit installed by a professional instead of doing it themselves. That being said there are a lot of handy people that could handle this kind of set-up themselves, thats why a better quality mic and pre-amp will be made available.


The M15HD includes both Audyssey Volume and DynamicEQ. These both work with or without an initial calibration however to take best advantage of dynamic EQ you want your absolute levels to be setup correctly. This can be done either by tweaking your speaker levels to 75 dB C weighted using an SPL meter and the NAD test tones or by doing the Audyssey automatic calibration.

There we go. Now I want to know how much that kit will be!!!

Thanks for the info, seems they will then have 2 kits, and make this optional any smart buyer would demand this as part of the deal . One small kit that works with the internal software and the 'normal' pro-kit we already talked about.

I can see the logic in this other pre/pro's in the end also give 3 options : calibrate yourself with the provided mic, use a external mic not provided by the maker or use the external pro setup.

Daniel.