NAD Electronics just introduced its powerful T 175 Preamp-Tuner-Processor, designed for demanding audiophiles. Packed with new features and technologies, it fully leverages NAD's three decades of experience, delivering a very advanced audio component.

The T 175 embodies NAD's core values of simplicity, performance and value, while reinforcing its Music First design philosophy, which declares that state-of-the-art music recordings are the truest test of any playback system. The T 175 also boasts a more intuitive, less intimidating user interface than is typically seen today, reflecting NAD's belief that many home-entertainment products have grown too complex and unwieldy.

Most significant among the T 175's features is NAD's exclusive Modular Design Construction (MDC) architecture, which employs a new layout that places key circuitry on independent and removable modules, making it easier to service the T 175 as well as introduce new or enhanced technologies, ensuring years of state-of-the-art performance. The high-value, High-Definition MDC architecture provides enhanced performance, features, flexibility, upgradeability and simplified service.

T 175 comes equipped with NAD's new AM 200 and VM 200 Modules. On the audio side, the T 175 features several enhancements by Audyssey™, including Auto Calibration, a sophisticated, DSP-based system that helps balance and adjust multi-channel speaker systems using a small, calibrated microphone supplied with each pre-pro; Audyssey's highly evolved MultEQ XT™ Room Correction, which minimizes room acoustics to yield a "family sized" sweet-spot and real gains in sonic accuracy; and Audyssey MultEQ XT Pro™ which, with the processing power of a laptop computer, helps custom installers and system designers obtain more accurate, more extensive room corrections.

On the video side, the T 175 features Sigma Designs' VXP broadcast studio quality image processor, which supports all standard and high-definition formats up to 2048 x 2048 pixels; motion adaptive de-interlacing with edge interpolation, which eliminates the jagged edge effects common in lesser processors; film mode detection with output cadence generation, which gives video the smoothness of film; and programmable scaling with aspect ratio conversion, which perfectly matches video sources with video displays. It also boasts advanced noise reduction and detail enhancement, and frame conversion to and from any refresh rate in NTSC and PAL.

An on-screen menu and display system on the T 175's video outputs achieves the "holy grail" of a full-function single-cable link between the preamp-processor and its display, while four HDMI v1.3 inputs route HDMI signals with sufficient bandwidth to carry progressive-scan 1080p signals with unrestricted resolution.

Further enhancements include Audyssey's Dynamic EQ circuitry, which preserves the full impact of movie soundtracks at all listening levels, and Dynamic Volume, which prevents large jumps in loudness when commercials come on and when TV channels or video sources are changed.

In addition, Aureus™ 7.1 Audio Digital Signal Processing from Texas Instruments provides a complete palette of Dolby and DTS surround formats, including the latest HD formats. NAD's acclaimed EARS II™ "minimally invasive" DSP produces impressively natural surround sound from two-channel recordings. Key features also include top-level Burr Brown DACs with a 24/96 converter for each of 8 channels; a high-performance, 30-preset RDS FM tuner; XM readiness, requiring only an affordable third-party XM Mini-Tuner module; a Universal Portable Media Player input jack on the front panel; and dedicated connectivity with Apple iPods™ via an optional NAD iPod dock.

Installer-friendly enhancements include three additional zones, all with independent source and volume controls; an RS-232 serial connection for integration with whole-house control systems; a broad range of 12-volt-trigger and IR-connection tools; and a simplified, second-zone remote.

The T 175 Preamp-Tuner-Processor is available now at a suggested price of $2,999 (U.S. MSRP).