It sounds great with LPs, especially the 'Oracle of Sherbrooke' | San Diego Wood Fence

None so far

Power Connectivity Staging Depth Transparency A good power amplifier should only amplify the signal sent to it by the chosen pre-amp, and it does this perfectly. I originally used a Nad c162 preamp, but felt something was lacking. The top end was coarse and the midrange a little lacking. However, as soon as I swapped the preamp out to an Aufdionote M-Zero tube preamp, things vastly improved. A further improvement came along when I introduced a tube DAC into the mix. At this stage the amplifier showed its true colours. And it is very clear that it can only amplify what it is given to amplify. That suggests to me that the amplifier has the ability to do whatever you want it can do, but it needs good quality components to do it. That also suggests that those reviewers that have low marked it have not matched this brilliant powerful amp to a decent source or speakers. Of course its difficult to be able to describe the sound quality as its neutral and will only give out what its told to, and given to output. But neutral is good and what it should be. It has zero noise floor both in output and mechanically, again, those finding noise must be adding it from somewhere else, or you have a faulty one.

Nothing at the price

I bought this NAD c272 amp because I felt that my current Audiolab 8200a, used in power amp mode, was limited in power and started to distort at mid-volume.

This NAD amp was a very good local second-hand deal, together with the NAD c162 preamp which I currently use only as a phono preamp for my turntable. I did some reading beforehand, focusing on what would be a good pair for Bowers & Wilking speakers (603 S2 more specifically) and most people suggest that a NAD power amp would be a good suite for them, also considering that the max rated power of the speakers is 150W, which is the max power output of this amp.

I bi-wired the speakers using two pairs of Neotech 5001 speaker cable for each speaker. Currently I am using the fixed input of the amp from my Audiolab 8200CDQ which in my system is the pre-amp. I find this matching to be very good, sound is detailed, airy and bass is very present. There is a lot of power and little distortion at high volumes. The overall sound is 'warm' and 'musical' and is just what I wanted for my B&W speakers. I would recognize a particular rather synthetic sound for the high notes like cymbals when comparing to a small Yarland tube amplifier but I guess it's normal for a solid state power amp which does not pretend to be high-end material. There is good soundstage for this amp, even for a 1.5m meter distance between my speakers due to limited space.


I am what you would call a computer audiophile. I focused most on digital sources, specifically USB playback, which is known to be very unforgiving with noise coming from sources and is very prone to sibilance. I did a lot of work in order to 'tame' this amp's sound because it is a very revealing amp, at least in my system. I had faith that the components were high quality and so I was willing to try everything I could. I use high quality Supra CAT8 network cables for my Synology NAS and media player and I even isolated the network using fiber optic transformers (cheap and good investment). The actual USB playback is done by a Raspbeery Pi with Volumio installed. It is powered by and sends USB signal to an Ifi iUSB nano usb regenerator. I use Wireworld Ultraviolet cables, found them to be good performance/cost ratio. It was until I changed the power cables with Chord Power cables for both this NAD power amp and the Audiolab DAC/preamp when I realised the true potential of the sound coming from this amplifier. The Supra Lorad power cables were not a good match at all and the high frequencies where too harsh and over powered. Sound was distant and a bit flat. Now I can crank the volume way up and enjoy real hi fi music with bass and soundstage.

I highly recommend this NAD c272 power amp. It's a best buy midfi power amp with lots of power and clarity, considering that the current NAD c275 model has a very similar design/power rating/specs and is around the 1000 eur/usd/gbp price point.

Hi, all

Having owned many NAD products over the years, thought I'd chime in with my two cents worth.

A major online retailer was offering two NAD C272 amps for $1,000. I had recently purchased a NAD T-775HD for home theater purposes, but wanted more "oomph" for listening to my music in two channel stereo mode. Since I wanted an all-in-one solution (home theater, videogames, and music in two channel stereo), and the T-775HD had pre-amp outs, I decided to purchase the new C272s, which were new in box, two year warranty, and being replaced by the C275BEE.

The 275 is more musical, but the difference is not night and day, and the cost is nearly twice as much. Running these amps in bridge mode allowed me to derive 400 watts per channel into my fronts, which are Boston Acoustic Reference VR-3s. This freed up the 775 to run the center channel rears (Boston Acoustics Reference VR-MC, and Boston Acoustics Reference VR-2s), and also two self-powered Boston Acoustic PV-900 subs. I am using Kimber cables for the subs, and Canare quads for the rest.

I let the Audyssey set up the speakers using 8 listening points. The sound in this system is incredible, from top to bottom. Grand, broad soundstage, 3-d midrange and highs, and the subs carry the lows with detail and tightness. The power seems limitless. I am moving the VR3s to the rear, and have Totem Forests on order for the front mains. The Holmgren torrodial transformers sometimes hum a little on start-up, but mine quietens once it warms up.

If you want a "do it all well" system, I like these amps. If you can still find them new in box with factory warranty, at $500 they are the best you can get for that amount of money.

I've lived with this amp in two systems using the C162 pre amp and a mint condition Audio Research LS7.
The speakers were either Paradigm Monitor 9v5 or Magnepan MMG's . I purchased two C272's and bridged them for use with the MMG's. I must say these amps are very powerful and relatively clean for their price.
In bridged mode I found them noisier and less airy. Having owned several far more expensive amps, it is very easy for me to come to this conclusion; these amps are all anyone really needs to produce dynamic and powerful music in a home audio system, end of story.

I bought this amp new from a local dealer in 2008. I'm not going to get long-winded here, but I felt compelled to post a short review after reading one of the negative comments. I have been an avid audio enthusiast for overr 30 years. I am also a musician. I have owned (and still do own) some very high priced and wonderful sounding systems over the years. I am using my C272 with a C162 preamp and Magnepan MG 1.6 QR speakers. This particular system is utilizing all Audioquest cables.
I have had NO problems at all with my NAD eqipment and am extremely pleased with the sound provided. My NAD setup is extremely quiet and with the Maggies presents a glorious midrange with a very broad soundstage, though the depth is good but not great. Overall tonal balance and musicality are fantastic. I think that this is the amps greatest characteristic - it is just a wonderfully MUSICAL amp.
My setup in the other room is using a Bill Baker custom built EL34 tube integrated(50 WPC) with ACI Sapphire IIIs on 24" stands. While I prefer the sound of tubes over SS, I really do not feel as though I am compromising too much when I retreat to the NAD/Magnepan system. Overall, for my tastes, the NAD has no peer in its price range in the application for which I purchased it.
Previous amps that I have owned or currently own: McIntosh, Rotel, Hafler, Adcom, Rogue Audio, Response Audio(Bill Baker built tube integrated), Cary.

Big soundstage, easy to listen to, plenty of power

none for me

I purchased the C272 primarily to increase power and control with my large floorstanders (ATS-5's with twin 8" bass drivers). I'm very impressed with the performance of this Amp, plenty of detail, nice forward mids and bass control.
It is totally composed even when pushed to high volume levels.

Lots of power, very quiet.

None yet!

I ordered the NAD C272 after my Adcom 585 amp went south. I am very happy with this amp, I have it set up with Klipsch La Scalas and the amp is very quiet and has plenty of power to drive these speakers. The stage is large and grand, the seperation is awsome and the bass sounds great even though it has been said that the La Scalas are bass weak. Overall for the price you cannot beat this amp.

Customer Service

Howell Electronics in El Paso has fantastic customer service, Elden Howell ( the owner) went out of his way to find the best bang for the buck in regards to this amp and speaker setup that I have. Will recommend Howell Electrronics anytime.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom, H.H Scott labs, Knight amps.

Truely none.

Truely everything

Pure unmittigated junk.
Many years ago,when NAD was still Brittish,their gear was good...sometimes better than good.But this amp is very very bad.Flat,little definition,noisy as hell.
There is,granted,terrific separation,but after that the amp fails on almost every front.Imaging is smeared(due mainly to unacceptable noise),there is no depth of stage,and bass,what little power there is down there,is muted and slow.Highs are smeared and slightly etched,exceedingly dry.There is little good to say about anything that might be considered a mid-range...just too much noise/hash whatever to discerne anything.
At this price point there are soooo many good power amps out there...even basic mass-market stuff defeats this thing hands down.
I borrowed this thing for some bi-amping experimentation...it lasted about 3 minutes in my system.
Cary Pre
XLO cables
Arcam sorce
Reference MM dicapo I speaks

Similar Products Used:

Heaps of gear over the years

Clean tight base
Mids to high's that are ambient and comfortable on the ears.

It is true that the auto signal sensing does not work well at all, (amp shuts down at low volume) but since I wired it for 12v trigger power up it works flawlessly.

I purchased the C272 about a year ago upgrading from my 100W x 5 Yamaha receiver. The speakers being fed are power hungry 15" Cerwin Vegas (E715's) and let me tell you the difference was amazing!! I know the Cerwin Vegas are not an audiophile speaker but the smooth tight base and vocal clarity that comes out of them now is unbelievable, its like my speakers are reborn. The base that came out from the Yamaha was fluttery and slow with shrilly highs. This is an excellent amplifier with astonishing acoustics. I'm looking to purchase another NAD C272 and bi-amping them.