NAD Showcases New A/V Receiver & DVD Player

NAD, manufacturer of top-value, high-performance audio components, showcased two new products at CES 2000, to strengthen the companyís reputation as a leader in delivering ""Music First"" home theatre components designed for real-world use. The T760 DolbyÆ Digital and DTSÆ A/V Receiver and T550 DVD/CD Player - NADís first DVD product - add new dimension to NADís Theater Series, a significant line of products designed for home theatre enjoyment.""NAD is best known for taking a rational approach to new and pioneering technology,"" says Greg Stidsen, Director of Sales and Marketing for NADís U.S. operations. ""And itís a point of pride at NAD that when we do introduce components incorporating important developments like DVD, Dolby Digital or DTS, they often have a defining impact on the value/performance ratio consumers come to expect, and so influence the industry at large. Our new T760 A/V Receiver and T550 DVD Player each do precisely this, offering levels of sonic refinement, sophistication and simplicity that yield extraordinary audio and video quality.""T760 Dolby Digital And DTS A/V ReceiverWhen NAD introduced the T760ís predecessors - the T770 Dolby Digital Surround Receiver and the T750 Surround Receiver, reviewers and Home Theater fans were vocal and enthusiastic in praising an A/V receiver concept that, at long last, recognized that music is still a vitally important element in Home Theater use. With the T760, NAD enhances its acclaimed ""Music First"" line-up with an exceptionally high-performance, impressively affordable design.The T760ís power output, at 60 watts to all five channels, seems unexceptional at first - until you observe that, unlike the vast majority of competing receivers, the T760 delivers this genuine power level, with wide dynamic range and extremely low distortion, to all five channels simultaneously over the full audio band. Just as important, the T760 exploits NADís proprietary Impedance Sensing Circuit [ISC] amplifier topology, which ensures fully useful power into real-world loudspeakers, not just laboratory loads.The T760 also incorporates NADís unique Enhanced Ambience Recovery System [EARS]. This systemís subtle application of DSP to ambience recovery (as opposed to ambience synthesis) exploits the T760ís considerable DSP power to extract the ambient information ""encrypted"" in virtually all stereo recordings -especially natural-acoustic music discs in jazz, classical and folk genres. Without resorting to artificially generated reflections or regeneration, EARS directs ambient, monaural and stereo sonic components to the appropriate speakers, resulting in a widely applicable, surround mode that contributes an extraordinarily natural sense of spatial enhancement serious music lovers will appreciate.To enhance its value as a flexible, ergonomic Home Theater centerpiece, the T760 includes five A/V inputs (three with S-video) and four audio-only options, plus three digital inputs. A 5.1 analog input permits expansion via an outboard surround processor. Simple, intuitive onscreen displays complement an easy-to-read full-system remote control, while the T760ís NAD-Link technology permits it to command a full system of NAD components.T550 DVD/CD PlayerNADís first DVD player is a mature design that combines a full complement of features and superb video accuracy with the NAD audio quality that makes it fully appropriate as a principal audio source, even in a system devoted to serious music listening. The T550 includes built-in Dolby Digital decoding with 5.1-channel analog outputs, ready to enhance any 5.1-ready system - such as one assembled around NADís own, widely praised T750 multichannel-input A/V receiver. The new T550 design is fully compatible with DTS DVDs as well as with 24-bit/96kHz recordings, and provides two digital outputs - one coaxial-electrical, one TOSLINK-optical - to ensure full flexibility in system setup and configuration.The T550 also includes three-RCA component-video outputs in addition to composite-video and S-Video jacks. Combined with its exceptionally accurate 10-bit video digital-to-analog converter, this ensures each viewer will be able to enjoy the DVD mediumís outstanding images to the limit of his or her systemís video display potential. The T550ís supplied remote incorporates a simple, intuitive layout that reflects NADís dedication to ergonomic design, making access to the DVDs considerable power and extensive onscreen menus and controls unusually easy.Recognizing the customer trend toward using the DVD player for both movies and music, the stereo matrix output of the T550 includes a completely separate signal path for 2 channel CDís that is virtually identical to that of our highly acclaimed C540 CD player.The T760 Dolby Digital and DTS A/V Receiver and T550 DVD/CD Player are currently available from NAD dealers. The suggested retail price for the T760 Dolby Digital/DTS A/V Receiver is $999, and $799 for the T550 DVD/CD Player.