NAD C 298 Power Amplifier Features Purifi Eigentakt Technology, 185Wpc Output, Balanced Inputs, and User-Friendly Flexibility

Borrowing the pioneering Purifi Eigentakt technology from the company's award-winning M33 model, the NAD C 298 power amplifier plays with superb clarity, commanding dynamics, and dutiful reliability. Plus, it offers tremendous output to drive most any speaker to its potential. Supplying a continuous 185Wpc into eight ohms (340Wpc into four ohms), the cool-running C 298 employs a large, efficient power supply with asymmetrical power-drive to fully use every last watt available from the reserves – and to reproduce transients without distortion. Moreover, you get near-perfect regulation of voltage across a wide range of conditions and a noise-free foundation for the amplifying stages.

Equipped with selectable balanced line inputs as well as single-ended line inputs, the flexible C 298 easily mates with high-end preamplifiers and processors. A trim control, line out for daisy chaining, auto turn-on feature, and ground lug that can eliminate loops in sophisticated multi-unit systems all come standard. Ditto a bridge switch that transforms C 298 into a mighty 1,000Wpc monoblock amplifier – enough to keep pace with any potential speaker upgrade you might have in mind.

An ideal mate for the NAD C 658 streaming DAC/preamplifier, C 298 also touts NAD's fabled build quality and focus on the essentials – not bells and whistles fanciness. Its minimalist aesthetics reflect a single-minded commitment to audiophile sound – and a refusal to let anything get in the way of accomplishing that goal. Like all Music Direct products, the NAD C 298 Power Amplifier comes with the 100% Music Direct Satisfaction Guarantee.

"The sound is spectacular and upgradable, too – switch it into bridge mode, and you have a 600W+ monoblock!"
—EISA Award for 2021-2022, Power Amplifier

"The C 298 sounds like a powerhouse, with effortless dynamics, a tight and solid bottom end, and a general sense of ease during complex passages…. The C 298’s soundstaging was outstanding — big, open, spacious, and detailed, with precise image placement. The C 298 was also remarkably adept at clearly revealing subtle instrumental lines. It was easy to hear low-level instruments in the mix, or at the back of the hall. The C 298 is a lot of amplifier for the money."
—Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound, 2021 Golden Ear Award

"The C 298 power amp is compact, silent, powerful, efficient, eco-friendly and sounds great. In tandem with the C 658 streaming pre, it's a formidable combination that I could certainly live with."
—Jimmy Hughes, Stereonet, Applause and Product of the Year Awards

"The NAD C 298 is a transparent, uncolored, powerful stereo power amplifier. It can easily drive most speakers to levels that exceed domestic tranquility. A bridged pair extends the power capability further still. The NAD C 298 challenges more expensive amps and should impress discerning listeners, regardless of budget. "
—Kalman Rubinson, Stereophile

Getting All the Basics Right

Low-noise circuits, accurate channel balance, proper input and output impedance characteristics, high overload margins, and stability with difficult speaker loads: NAD starts by getting these things precisely right and advances from there. The balanced and single-ended line inputs can accommodate all kinds of analog source components by offering ideal input impedance characteristics with linear ultra-low-noise buffer amplifiers to prevent any sonic degradation caused by inappropriate loading of the source device. These are all details you can hear.

Sophisticated Power

The generously dimensioned power supply easily allows for 185 watts continuous and over 570 watts instantaneous power for short-term musical transients. Innovative Asymmetrical Power-Drive fully utilizes every last watt available with its vast reserves of dynamic power available to accurately reproduce musical transients without distortion or compression. It can operate with any AC mains voltage from 100W to 240W and provides pure DC power to all the various stages of the C 298. This highly efficient supply also provides near-perfect regulation of voltage across a wide range of conditions and provides a solid noise-free foundation for the amplifying stages.

Amazing Flexibility

The NAD C 298 may be a basic power amp, but it offers tremendous versatility. Selectable balanced inputs make C 298 a natural for studio use or connection to high-end preamps and processors. These inputs include a trim control useful for matching to other components. A line out allows further addition of power on the same channel for additional speakers or subwoofers. Auto-sense with selectable threshold is perfect for automating complex systems or hiding the amp out of sight in a cabinet. The ground lug can be very useful for eliminating ground loops and noise in complex multi-unit systems. Added to all this connectivity is a bridge switch that turns C 298 into an amazingly powerful monoblock amp. Start with one and add a second C 298 later when you upgrade your speakers.

Purifi Eigentakt Amplifier Technology

Purifi is a Danish technology company that has brought together several of the industry's leading engineers to apply advanced mathematical modeling to solve the last remaining limitations of audio amplifiers. Purifi took a fresh look at every aspect of amplifier performance and found many seemingly small non-linearities that can make a dramatic difference in the overall sound. This return to first principles has resulted in a stunningly simple approach to some remarkably complex problems.