NAD T778 Obsessed Garage

The NAD T 778 is by far the best overall receiver I’ve experienced. I spent a lot of time listening to this on the Dynaudio Evokes and really enjoyed the clarity and smoothness it delivers. It’s the perfect receiver for either your home theater or garage.

When we’re talking cost, it’s definitely in flagship money territory from a receiver perspective. This is like the old Yamaha RXV-1 or Denon AVR-5200 from back in the day. It’s a high-end receiver that will live up to its reputation for many years to come.

The real advantage to this receiver (if you’re going to do surround sound in the garage) is that it’s a Class-D architecture. So, rather than having a big toroidal transformer and big capacitors (lots of heat generation), this uses a chipset, creating high current amplification – resulting in more clarity and detail rather than the bottom-end/pure grunt you’d get with a 100-pound receiver. 

This receiver has BluOS on board, allowing you to access and stream lossless music up to 24-bit/192kHz. Like other receivers on the market, this has 4K Ultra HD passthrough (4K 60) and an MDC module on the back. There’s an in-home upgrade path to this unit; you take the two screws off, pop a module in, and you’re able to upgrade various things on this receiver. 

One of the coolest things about this receiver is that it has a touchscreen with an amazing display – the best I’ve seen on the market. It’s an ultra-modern, ultra-sophisticated, well-constructed machine that I think is freaking awesome. 

I know we’re talking about audio in the garage here, but if I were doing a receiver in a home theatre, I would do this T 778 with Dynaudio Evoke 50s, a Dynaudio Evoke 25C center channel, and some Dynaudio in-ceilings for my rears. I don’t have these theatre-style speakers in the store, but we can special order them for you if you want them.  

Specifications

Power and processing:

• 9-channel amplifier
• 140 watts per channel into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.08% THD, with 2 channels driven
• Hybrid Digital Amplifier Technology for efficient, clean power and low distortion
• Dolby® and DTS® surround sound decoding
• Dolby Atmos processing for use with in-ceiling or “height” speakers for more enveloping home theater sound
• Dirac Live™ advanced room correction software tailors the sound to your room with the included microphone

Digital and streaming music options:

• BluOS multi-room compatibility with optional Bluesound wireless speakers

• includes support for Amazon Music Unlimited, Spotify, TIDAL, Napster, Deezer, Qobuz, and more (subscription required for some services)
•  supports internet radio from TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Calm Radio, Radio Paradise, and Slacker Radio

• supports MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, FLAC, ALAC, WMA-L, MQA, WAV, and AIFF file formats
• Bluetooth streaming (transmitting and receiving) with aptX™
• Apple AirPlay 2 lets you stream directly from an iPhone® or iPad® and ask Siri to play Apple Music
• works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home voice control assistants

Multi-room audio:

• dual-zone capability with powered dual-room/dual-source output
• surround back amplifier channels can be assigned to power speakers in Zone 2
• only analog sources can be played in Zone 2

Audio performance features:

• toroidal transformer delivers clean, consistent power to all channels
• back surround speaker channels re-assignable for biamping front left and right speakers for improved performance
• gold-plated A/V inputs/output connectors
• detachable power cord

Connections:

• HDMI 2.0 audio/video switching: 6 in, 2 out, including one front-panel input
• HDCP 2.2 technology ensures compatibility with 4K Ultra HD sources and TVs
• HDR-compatible for extended picture contrast and brightness with compatible 4K TVs and HDR-encoded content
• supports 4K Ultra HD video pass-through
• supports ARC (Audio Return Channel) and eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel)
• eARC receives uncompressed surround sound signals including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X via the HDMI connection with your compatible TV
• front-panel USB port for audio playback from USB flash drives
• 3 analog stereo RCA inputs, including a dedicated phono input
• digital audio inputs: 2 optical, 2 coaxial
• 7.1-channel analog audio preamp outputs for connecting optional external amplifiers
• Wi-Fi dongle and extension cable for wireless connection to your home network
• RS-232 and Ethernet port for use with optional 3rd-party automated control systems

General Information

• MDC (Modular Design Construction) offers the ability to upgrade components for future format and feature compatibility
• Free BluOS controller app for iOS and Android devices
• Intuitive front-panel color touchscreen for easy operation
• Includes HTR 8 remote control (4 “AA” batteries included)
• Rack-mountable (3U-height)
• 17-1/8″W x 5-9/16″H x 17-15/16″D
• Weight: 26.7 lbs.
• Warranty: 2 years

FAQ

T 778 Data Sheet