Performance

The NAD engineers concentrated only on the truly important parts of a surround sound system. As the new Surround Sound formats allow for the same wide bandwidth and large dynamic range for the rear channels as for the front channels, all fi ve channels are capable of putting out an equal and substantial amount of power. As usual with NAD, the L73 uses discrete output stages only, including the surround channels. The benefi ts of this approach have been proven over the years in many acclaimed NAD amplifi ers and receivers. Most products in this category are using digital IC amplifi er modules, which allow for a very slim-line design, but cannot meet even the most basic hi-fi specs for noise and distortion. What’s more, these amplifi ers can only put out a very modest amount of power, far too little for a satisfying cinematic or musical performance. And to make matters even worse, these digital IC amplifi ers used by our competitors cannot drive real world speakers due to their poor tolerance of low impedance, and almost total lack of dynamic power.As one would expect from NAD, only high quality components have been used, such as high resolution ADCs (Analogue-to-br> Digital Converter) and DACs (Digital-to-Analogue Converter) from renowned manufacturer Crystal to obtain the best possible performance.

Flexibility

Even though the L73 DVD Surround Sound Receiver may be far more compact than a separate DVD Player and Receiver of comparable performance, it still is very fl exible. Three additional video sources (one front panel accessible - perfect for cameras and game consoles) and a 6 channel audio source can be connected (with the built-in tuner and DVD/CD player that potentially gives you access to six sources) of which two also offer S-Video inputs and one a Component Video input. Besides the Monitor output, the L73 also has an S-Video and Composite output as well. Two digital inputs (one optical, one coaxial) are provided, and, for easy transferring to a CD recorder or other digital recording device, the L73 also sports an optical digital output. Rather than using spring clips for loudspeaker cable connection, as usually found on compact systems, the L73 offers high quality loudspeaker binding posts, more associated with top-of-the-range full-size AV receivers. A linelevel output for connection to a powered subwoofer is provided as well.

Advanced Features

The L73 will automatically recognise DTS or Dolby Digital and will switch accordingly. Also included is the new high resolution DVDAudio mode with up 24 bit 96 kHz resolution (CD is only 16 bit 44.1 kHz) with full bass management available. Besides these modes, Stereo Enhanced (all channel stereo), ProLogic II, and EARS (an NAD exclusive) are available, all aimed at reproducing 2 channel stereo music in a realistic 5.1 surround mode, creating either a natural ambience, or an all out party sound. In all cases the sound is pure and undistorted, as opposed to those fuzzy “boingy” sound effects with lofty sounding names like “stadium” and “cathedral”.

DVD and CD Features and Performance

Besides superb DVD picture quality in either interlaced or progressive modes, the NAD L73 also offers a wide range of facilities such as Multi-Angle*; Multi-Sound*; Multi-Subtitle*; Frame; Zoom and Repeat. All these facilities can be easily accessed with the supplied remote control. Through the extensive yet intuitive On-Screen-Display you can change the various settings and parameters for optimum performance.