One is a streaming all-in-one and the other is an amplifier. Judge them on how many boxes you want and what you already own, not on the spec sheet alone.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Power | B | NAD Masters Series M10 V2 has more power - 100W against 80W into 8 ohms. That is about 1dB, which is a small step in loudness but real headroom on peaks. |
| Room size | depends | We rate NAD C 368 the better fit for a small room, and NAD Masters Series M10 V2 for a large room and a very large room. Match the amplifier to the room you actually have, not the one you want. |
| Grip on hard loads | evenly matched | Both behave much the same into 4 ohms - output barely increases (80W and 100W). |
| Noise floor | A | NAD C 368 is the quieter design on paper - 98dB against 90dB. Audible mainly with sensitive speakers in a quiet room. |
| Built-in DAC | B | Both decode on board, but only NAD Masters Series M10 V2 handles MQA. |
| Streaming | B | Only NAD Masters Series M10 V2 has AirPlay 2, Roon and BluOS. |
| Analogue inputs | evenly matched | The same number of line-level inputs (2). |
| Phono stage | depends | NAD C 368 has a built-in phono stage (MM) and NAD Masters Series M10 V2 does not. Decisive if you own a turntable, completely irrelevant if you do not - and an outboard phono stage is easy to add later either way. |
| Use with a TV | depends | Only NAD Masters Series M10 V2 has HDMI eARC, so the television can drive it directly and one remote controls the volume. If the system is for music only, this changes nothing. |
| Room to grow | evenly matched | The same expansion options on both. |
| Headphones | depends | Only NAD C 368 has a headphone output. Worth something if you listen late, nothing if you never do. |
| Shelf space | depends | NAD Masters Series M10 V2 takes up about 67% less shelf area (606cm² against 1840cm²), and it is 145mm shallower, which is the measurement that decides whether a rack door shuts. |
| Price | A | NAD C 368 costs less - $1,499 against $2,499 at list. |
| Watts per dollar | A | NAD C 368 is the cheaper watt - about $19 per watt against $25. A blunt measure, and it says nothing about how either sounds, but it is the honest one for raw output. |
A NAD C 368 B NAD Masters Series M10 V2
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both amplifiers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
NAD Masters Series M10 V2 is ahead, but on only 1 of the measured areas, and it costs about 67% more. That is a lot of money for a narrow margin - NAD C 368 is the sensible buy unless a specific feature above decides it for you. If you play records, NAD C 368 saves you buying a phono stage; if you do not, ignore that row entirely. If this sits under a television, NAD Masters Series M10 V2 is the one to buy - HDMI ARC means the TV remote controls the volume and there is no second box in the way.
What a spec sheet cannot show: how either sounds with your speakers, how the controls feel day to day, and what the app is like to live with - which is where most all-in-one amplifiers are actually won or lost. Power figures are the manufacturers' own and are not measured to a common standard, so treat small differences as noise. If you can hear both, that will tell you more than any row above.