Life with a NAD C356

[mpw]

Hi,

Its been about 15 hours with my new NAD C356 and i thought its a good time for me to pen down a few things.

My fronts are the Paradigm Titan Monitors - on stands. The CDP is Marantz SACDP 7001.

I went in for a Silver color NAD as i thought it matched the color of my CDP and the silver NAD was the only one available anyway :lol:

Construction :

Like all NAD's.. built solid. Looks basic and unfussy and is not "handsome" like marantz or something. But its a look that you get used to and grow to like.

Spec : 80W at 8 ohms.. it met my requirements and i have heard the NAD C355 paired to paradigm floor standers and to the PSB Image T6.
The NAD C355 sounded lovely .. so i plumped in for this one without hearing the C356 specifically.

I/C : Audio Quest Sidewinders

Sound :

I have been told many times and read many reviews - the NAD's are laid back and not everyone likes the sound. ( a la Rahul Dravid - if i may ) The sound was expected to be solid , laid back and suitable for longer listening sessions. Something like a Rahul Dravid century. ( BTW , RD is my favorite cricketer )

But this NADC356 is a bit of a surprise ( ooh.. la la.. ) . This one is a Rahul Dravid with more "attack" and more gusto. Not to say the sound is forward but .. i can say.. more purposeful.

Today i played vaiied tracks.. from Nat King Cole to Hotel california to Enigma ( The lost Ones ), Pink Floyd ( Division Bell ), Old kishore kumar hits..

This one seems to like playing on the front foot.

Am yet to listen to some western instrumental and stuff but thats not up my alley..Maybe a Richard Clayderman or James Last will be better to listen to on this amp.

I also want to listen to Hey YOu ( Pink Floyd ) and Black velvet ( alanah myles ) just to have a mental comparo with what i heard at the Mumbai HFV meet.

Minor cribs : I would have liked a small LED on the volume control so as i increase the voulme i can see the dial ( my listening dist is 20 ft ).

The blue lights could have been more firendlier color.. say loke a mild orange or something..

The writing on the facia could have been more darker and bolder so you dont have to squint too much..

But these are minor things.. so far so good.. i think this amp should take care oy my music listening requirements for sometime now.

Price : This retails for about 42k ( as per last info i had )

Possible : The sound will improve after some more time ( my ears get adjusted to it or it gets adjusted to me ) :lol:

Advise : For smaller rooms.. dekko the NAD C326.. should serve you well especially with PSB's and Paradigm's. Not necessary to plump in for more power if you have a smaller room ( Mumbai type )

Also.. the quality of CD's you play.. has a HUUUGE bearing on the sound. Listen to fewer but better CD's and you will enjoy more.

Look forward to your inputs / comments etc..

regards,
mpw

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

Congrats mpw and you have written very well, Enjoy the sound

 

[raz_737]

nice write up..:clapping:

 

[pupupuchi28]

Can you put a 'kala tika' on the face of that NAD

I'm jealous of you...

 

[jaudere]

Enjoy the set up.
Can we have snaps of the whole system in one go?
As you said, it is very important to choose good quality source material. That makes a huge difference.

 

[rikhav]

Hi Mahesh
Congrats on your new amp
I am guessing that the distance between the speaker will be between 6 to 8 ft.
So what i would suggest you is that you try to change your listening position if thats possible bring it forwards by 1 ft and see if it brings about any changes in sound (soundstaging and imaging)
Also with speaker position (toe in and out)
I think with a little experimentation on these fronts you will be able to change the sound a lot to your liking

 

[alcy]

Nice write-up. But that looks like an enclosed rack, that's not ideal, is it ?

 

[heliumflight]

A humble writeup mpw. You favoured the Nad over Marantz. Shouldn't the thread be "Life with a Marantz SACDP 7001".

 

[ruenigma]

Congrats mpw, I have a mildly similar setup with a 326 and the Titans on stands and I can totally understand how you are feeling here.

Now my only quest remaining is a CDP and I was pondering about 5004 that's on offer right now, might as well make the jump.

 

[mpw]

pupupuchi28@.. jealous.. dont be.. theres much more fancy stuff out there.. and this is after close to 2.5 years on the road. I think this is a temporary full stop for me now.

@ruenigma - whats your current source ? The CDP5004 would be a good buy. The price is good too.

@rikhav - long time no hear... my speakers are on stands and i pull out and toe in a bit when i listen. But there is a sofa in front which the kids enjoy tumbling on. Therefore movement options are limited. But i think the soundstage etc.. are pretty good.

@alcy.. life is a compromise. I have kids at home and kids friends .. you know.. come over many times.. rather than damage.. i took the safer bet of an enclosed rack. I understand the ventilation concerns and have added a magnetic stopper to keep the door partly ajar when playing. Also.. have provided 1 inch wiring holes in the back of eack rack and that helps somewhat. I will have to manage with this for some more time.

@ jaudere... i will take a pic and put it in. The set up looks much better when viewed in toto.

@heliumflight.. yes.. the title could have been that ;-))

regards,
mpw

 

[srinisundar]

Missed this thread yesterday... congrats Mpw Enjoy your stuff

 

[ruenigma]

@mpw: Current source is a PC (All CDs ripped to FLACs) connected to a Maverick Audio TubeMagic D1.

Will audition the CDP locally do a proper AB between the CDP and the DAC and then will make the choice.

 

[hydra]

Congrats!

That is the first silver NAD I've seen. All the other ones I've seen are either battleship grey or black.

Enjoy the music

 

[mpw]

@ruenigma : To my ears, at the Mumbai HFV meet, the CDP's outgunned the PC Xonar / DAC etc..

Besides, whe you put in a CD, you tend to listen to the whole album and appreciate the artist more. The PC way tends to put
"favorite songs first" and you dont give yourself a chance to like other songs the artist may have got.

I thought Billy Joel was only an"Uptown Girl" man.. and now i have 3 albums of his.

rgds,
mpw


==========================================================

@mpw: Current source is a PC (All CDs ripped to FLACs) connected to a Maverick Audio TubeMagic D1.

Will audition the CDP locally do a proper AB between the CDP and the DAC and then will make the choice.

 

[reubensm]

Congrats on your new amp and for the well written note. I for one, can vouch for NAD amps...according to me, they've always been very hard to beat when it comes to great sound at a reasonable price. NAD amps tend to sound even better after some serious burn in, so keep enjoying, the sound is bound to get even better!!

 

[jls001]

@mpw: congrats on the new temporary "fullstop". I am sure it will be a long full stop till the bug bites again:lol:
If at all possible, try listening from the sweet spot. It should make a hell of a difference from your current listening distance.

 

[mpw]

hey guys,

today afternoon.. i did some re-connecting my setup.

Now it goes like this :-

CDP to AVR AUX IN to NAD C356 via pre out to 2 fronts + subwoofer ( cross over set at AVR at 80 Hz )

Previously it was CDP to NAD C356 to 2 front speakers. Could not bring subwoofer into play as my sub accepts crossover setting from AVr only.

Just played a few tracks and i can feel more thump. Need to play more tracks to see if the music gets more refined and if the Titans produce more mid range now since the sub should take care of the growl & thump now.

Or will it work otherwise.. will the sub overpower the system ??

Now all i need to do to switch from my DVDP to CDP is select the source from AVR.. very simple..

Seen many posts where i have read how 2.0 is supposed to be better than 2.1.. lets see for myself..

Also.. this leads me to think weather i can use the NAD C356 as power amp only.. forget the integrated as i use "Tone defeat" anyways..

comments, suggestions, bouquets, brickbats welcome

)

regards,
mpw

 

[marsilians]

Congrats on your purchase. Sounds like you have a decent setup already and key thing is you are focusing on good quality sound tracks.

The pairing of NAD with Paradigm and PSB are pretty good. The Monitors are some of the better speakers at the price range.

Try playing some tracks that have a lot of dynamics - this should give you a good idea to tune your setup.

BTW, NAD's non fussy look is better than all the extra jazz you find on other systems as price is compromised in more important areas in such cases.

 

[rohitmusic]

Congrats!

BTW which other amps have you tried? Can you put some summary.
(P.S: I too am looking for amp for my paradigm monitors)

Thanks and enjoy your music!

 

[MAYHEM_METAL]

Hi

I had also purchased the NAD 356 almost 6 months back and one thing I can say the Amp is very Powerful besides quality sound. It depends on what kind of setup. Any of the matching bookshelves sound good on the Nad no its awesome :lol: but somehow THE POWER was missing. When I connected my newly made floor standers with 12" woofer, the Amp suddenly started to flex its muscle power to deliver a more powerful sound. The secret I think is the power drive.

hyeah:hyeah:hyeah:hyeah:

Well what can I say a expensive Amp for me at 46000/. (paid less a bit) but totally satisfied.