CES 2013: NAD adds a greener seven-channel power amp

The new NAD T 977 seven-channel home cinema power amplifier, delivering 7X140W yet with a standby power consumption of less than 0.5W, is among the products to be launched by the company at CES 2013, which opens on January 8th in Las Vegas.

The T 977, which will sell in the States for $2799, also has an automatic standby mode to further reduce power consumption, and uses a monobloc modular construction plus balanced differential Class A input circuitry.

The company's PowerDrive technology is used, almost doubling the power for transients thanks to the use of a second high-voltage rail, which along with the company's exclusive Holmgren transformer acts as what NAD calls 'a "fuel cell" that supplies power to the audio circuitry and power amp, yet maintains superb isolation between the amplifier and any "dirty" noise on the AC supply that could affect the overall audio performance'.

The amp delivers its 140W power into 4ohm or 8ohm speakers, measured using NAD's 'full disclosure power' parameters: these require the measurement to be made with all channels driven, across a 20Hz-20kHz frequency range, with less than 0.03% total harmonic distortion.

A thermostatically controlled fan is also used, with the addition of a signal-tracking circuit to monitor input signals, so the fan isn't obtrusive during quiet passages.

The power amplifier is styled to match the company's T 187 preamp/processor, and has individual input trims for each channel, 12V trigger control and NAD's soft clipping option.

There's no information as yet on UK availability or pricing – we'll update with that information as soon as we have it.

CES 2013: what to expect from the world's biggest technology show

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Andrew has written about audio and video products for the past 20+ years, and been a consumer journalist for more than 30 years, starting his career on camera magazines. Andrew has contributed to titles including What Hi-Fi?, GramophoneJazzwise and Hi-Fi CriticHi-Fi News & Record Review and Hi-Fi Choice. I’ve also written for a number of non-specialist and overseas magazines.