In mid-December, Seattle had an intense windstorm that shredded flags overnight, destroyed one of our market umbrellas, and caused widespread power outages and unanticipated power surges. One such blew out my neighbor's integrated amp, part of a living room stereo upgrade I helped him obtain and install 10 years ago. When I pointed out that he'd already had that system 10 years, he said, "Let's get a new amp and CD player." There was one requirement that narrowed my search considerably: he has a subwoofer that only has line level (i.e., no speaker-level) intputs. So this next amp had to have preamp outputs as did his old one. What I noticed is that in mfr's integrated amp lines, they offer pre-outs only on their more expensive models. For example, as much as I like the Marantz amps, the ones with pre-outs start at $1199.99, a bit steep for my neighbor.
Then I remembered NAD, makers of deceptively good-sounding and performing electronics at affordable prices. When I was auditioning speakers in the Fall of 2013, it was a 150wpc NAD amp that powered the speakers I ended up buying. These speakers are notorious for being a difficult load for amps, but the NAD C 375BEE made 'em sing. The 375 is $1500, also too steep for the neighbor, but unlike other product lines, NAD integrateds have preamp outputs on their lower cost models as well. I looked over the rest of their line and found that the next model down, the C 356BEE, was affordable at $800, powerful at 80 wpc, and has the pre-outs needed for the subwoofer.
My neighbor also wanted to replace the CD player, so we got NAD's matching CD player, the C 546BEE at $549.
While I was installing the new components at my neighbor's house, he had gone upstairs to his study to work at his computer. When I popped a CD in to check things out, I couldn't believe how good it sounded. Yep, I had installed the previous components and they'd sounded really good for the money and for 2005, but these were performing at a different level, resolving the full bloom and decay of each note and recreating the room acoustics of the original recording venue. The difference was so dramatic that my neighbor immediately noticed the difference upstairs in a room off the hallway, and ran down to check it out.
You have to give some of that credit to the CD player as well. It was extracting a very organic and lifelike musical experience off standard-issue CDs at a quality I'd seldom heard. But it also means the NAD integrated amp was making the most of the signal the CD player was feeding it.
They offer a well-thought-out line. It starts with the C 316BEE with 40 watts/channel for $379.95. Next is the 50 wpc C 326BEE at $549, then the 80 wpc C 356BEE for $799 (what my neighbor got), and finally the 150 wpc C 375BEE for $1499. All but the entry-level 316BEE have preamp outputs.
Not long after I installed this, I got some validation when my Editor's Choice issue from The Absolute Sound arrived. It turns out that the 316, 326, and 356 are all Editor's Choice selections, having been enthusiastically reviewed and recommended. They made special mention of the 356 as having a great sense of dimensionality unusual at its price point. That's exactly what I heard when I fired one up at my neighbor's. In fact, in their review of the 356, they used it to power a pair of Magnepan 1.7s, which as I mentioned are a notoriously difficult load for many amps.
As for the C 375BEE, although you may find $1499 steep, I figure it's equivalent to a $3-4K stack of separates.
If you have been dicking around with mass market receivers, they have probably lulled you expectations of mediocrity. It doesn't have to be that way. The NAD BEE series will amply and immediately show you that there's a lot more music lurking in your music collection than you realized.
Do not be fooled that 100wpc from a $350 mass market receiver can power a speaker better than the 40wpc $379 NAD C 316BEE. Amplifier ratings are based on testing the amp into an 8-ohm resistor. When driving speakers, an amplifier is facing a variable impedance that might fluctuate from 3 to 40+ ohms, requiring larger, faster power supplies. NADs are specially engineered to sound natural while smoothly driving fluctuating impedances. They are sometimes referred to as the "poor man's McIntosh" (amps, not computers).
NAD also makes other versions of these amps with built-in digital/analog converters, and a couple of excellent add-on or add-in phono preamps for those who want to spin some vinyl.
Question
JohnnyB
In mid-December, Seattle had an intense windstorm that shredded flags overnight, destroyed one of our market umbrellas, and caused widespread power outages and unanticipated power surges. One such blew out my neighbor's integrated amp, part of a living room stereo upgrade I helped him obtain and install 10 years ago. When I pointed out that he'd already had that system 10 years, he said, "Let's get a new amp and CD player." There was one requirement that narrowed my search considerably: he has a subwoofer that only has line level (i.e., no speaker-level) intputs. So this next amp had to have preamp outputs as did his old one. What I noticed is that in mfr's integrated amp lines, they offer pre-outs only on their more expensive models. For example, as much as I like the Marantz amps, the ones with pre-outs start at $1199.99, a bit steep for my neighbor.
Then I remembered NAD, makers of deceptively good-sounding and performing electronics at affordable prices. When I was auditioning speakers in the Fall of 2013, it was a 150wpc NAD amp that powered the speakers I ended up buying. These speakers are notorious for being a difficult load for amps, but the NAD C 375BEE made 'em sing. The 375 is $1500, also too steep for the neighbor, but unlike other product lines, NAD integrateds have preamp outputs on their lower cost models as well. I looked over the rest of their line and found that the next model down, the C 356BEE, was affordable at $800, powerful at 80 wpc, and has the pre-outs needed for the subwoofer.
My neighbor also wanted to replace the CD player, so we got NAD's matching CD player, the C 546BEE at $549.
While I was installing the new components at my neighbor's house, he had gone upstairs to his study to work at his computer. When I popped a CD in to check things out, I couldn't believe how good it sounded. Yep, I had installed the previous components and they'd sounded really good for the money and for 2005, but these were performing at a different level, resolving the full bloom and decay of each note and recreating the room acoustics of the original recording venue. The difference was so dramatic that my neighbor immediately noticed the difference upstairs in a room off the hallway, and ran down to check it out.
You have to give some of that credit to the CD player as well. It was extracting a very organic and lifelike musical experience off standard-issue CDs at a quality I'd seldom heard. But it also means the NAD integrated amp was making the most of the signal the CD player was feeding it.
They offer a well-thought-out line. It starts with the C 316BEE with 40 watts/channel for $379.95. Next is the 50 wpc C 326BEE at $549, then the 80 wpc C 356BEE for $799 (what my neighbor got), and finally the 150 wpc C 375BEE for $1499. All but the entry-level 316BEE have preamp outputs.
Not long after I installed this, I got some validation when my Editor's Choice issue from The Absolute Sound arrived. It turns out that the 316, 326, and 356 are all Editor's Choice selections, having been enthusiastically reviewed and recommended. They made special mention of the 356 as having a great sense of dimensionality unusual at its price point. That's exactly what I heard when I fired one up at my neighbor's. In fact, in their review of the 356, they used it to power a pair of Magnepan 1.7s, which as I mentioned are a notoriously difficult load for many amps.
As for the C 375BEE, although you may find $1499 steep, I figure it's equivalent to a $3-4K stack of separates.
If you have been dicking around with mass market receivers, they have probably lulled you expectations of mediocrity. It doesn't have to be that way. The NAD BEE series will amply and immediately show you that there's a lot more music lurking in your music collection than you realized.
Do not be fooled that 100wpc from a $350 mass market receiver can power a speaker better than the 40wpc $379 NAD C 316BEE. Amplifier ratings are based on testing the amp into an 8-ohm resistor. When driving speakers, an amplifier is facing a variable impedance that might fluctuate from 3 to 40+ ohms, requiring larger, faster power supplies. NADs are specially engineered to sound natural while smoothly driving fluctuating impedances. They are sometimes referred to as the "poor man's McIntosh" (amps, not computers).
NAD also makes other versions of these amps with built-in digital/analog converters, and a couple of excellent add-on or add-in phono preamps for those who want to spin some vinyl.
6 answers to this question
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.