NAD OWNERS THREAD

[reubensm]

Thank you for the response and guidance.
Assume you were to buy the latest C series ? Which one would you consider ?
I used to own 320BEE ,316BEE and 375BEE and preferred the 316BEE.

Some of the great NAD integrated models (in my opinion):

3020 (version 2), 3020A, 3020B (but these are low power amps)
304, 306 (306 if you like audio bells and whistles)
320, 340, 370
3150 (sellers may demand huge prices saying it has dual transformers and mono-block power amps etc. This is actually NAD using 2 separate single winding transformers with a single PSU board, instead of using a single 2-winding center tap transformer with a single PSU board. There is nothing mono-block about its design. Buyers don't know this)
3300 (again like the 306, if you like audio bells and whistles)

From the current range:

316bee if I was looking for a small amp to use with my PC or my bedroom setup, perhaps with a cd player and bookshelf speakers
326bee if I was looking for a 50-50 analog amp for my main setup and if I had a phono box to plug in
356bee if I was looking for higher power and if i wanted plugin options for a phono-board and DAC
375bee would be my go to amp, great power ratings, with plugin options for a phono-board and DAC, and of course, if I had the budget for it
165bee and 275bee, if I was looking at separates in the same class as the 375bee but pure analog (without the DAC), and if I had the budget for it

 

[spirovious]

316bee if I was looking for a small amp to use with my PC or my bedroom setup, perhaps with a cd player and bookshelf speakers
326bee if I was looking for a 50-50 analog amp for my main setup and if I had a phono box to plug in
356bee if I was looking for higher power and if i wanted plugin options for a phono-board and DAC
375bee would be my go to amp, great power ratings, with plugin options for a phono-board and DAC, and of course, if I had the budget for it

Anything about C352? To me its flat and lacks regular NAD warm signature.

Internal images of Nad amps

integrated-amplifier - Hifi Inside

The Museum of hifi, stereo and audio-video

hifi-inside.com

 

[nn_in]

Anything about C352? To me its flat and lacks regular NAD warm signature.

Internal images of Nad amps

integrated-amplifier - Hifi Inside

The Museum of hifi, stereo and audio-video

hifi-inside.com

i would also think that many NADs depending on year varies in build quality and parts used. Maybe NAD attention is more towards the new Class D . Many C series class AB seem to have had quality miss by looking at repair videos on the net. NAD rarely will have has a spkr drivability issue....its more about quality construction consistency . In comparison other mainstream brands have done better viz Marantz,Denon,CA,Rotel,Yamaha.

 

[spirovious]

many NADs depending on year varies in build quality and parts used

Capacitors used in NAD C352 are not tipical audio grade I guess like Panasonic, Elna ,Nichicon.They keep on changing depending on series/years.

 

[nn_in]

Capacitors used in NAD C352 are not topical audio grade I guess like Panasonic, Elna ,Nichicon.They keep on changing depending on series/years.

True. As a previous owner of bee 320,326ver1,375 you can see that the components do change arbitrarily compared to other mfrs. I have owned CA and Marantz amps also. CA also tend to change sometimes and you see these comments on some forums. Marantz,Yamaha,Denon.Rotel seem to most consistent ...atleast comparatively speaking. Liquid audio australia YT videos of NAD repairs vs others show this. Maybe NAD AVs are get more quality audit than other lines ?

 

[reubensm]

Anything about C352? To me its flat and lacks regular NAD warm signature.

Internal images of Nad amps

integrated-amplifier - Hifi Inside

The Museum of hifi, stereo and audio-video

hifi-inside.com

Yes, in this particular series, the 340 was essentially the 320 with a more powerful power amp and hence sounded more or less the same. The 350 was more or less the same, again. However there have been many negative reviews of the 352, most of them saying that the amp sounded very harsh. NAD supposedly took this feedback into consideration when designing the 356 but its hard to tell as I haven't heard the 352 and 356. The USP of the 356 is the possibility of adding a plugin NAD Phonostage or/and DAC..

 

[spirovious]

Anything about C352? To me its flat and lacks regular NAD warm signature.

Yes, in this particular series, the 340 was essentially the 320 with a more powerful power amp and hence sounded more or less the same. The 350 was more or less the same, again. However there have been many negative reviews of the 352, most of them saying that the amp sounded very harsh. NAD supposedly took this feedback into consideration when designing the 356 but its hard to tell as I haven't heard the 352 and 356. The USP of the 356 is the possibility of adding a plugin NAD Phonostage or/and DAC..

That's what I feel about C352. Its sound has less body and treble not sweet.Vocals are thin which I don't like. It has audiophile like character but not actual sound signature. I heard C356 without its DAC and it has more audible power than C352. Only concern with C356 is mids lacks clarity. I tried its heaphobe out too.

 

[spirovious]

Internal images of Nad amps

integrated-amplifier - Hifi Inside

The Museum of hifi, stereo and audio-video

hifi-inside.com

Looking those internal images ,one can clearly see with some models ,speaker binding posts are connected with copper tracks/bars and some with wires.
Are there any benefits with copper bars over wires?

 

[reubensm]

Even if they are wires, the gauge is what probably matters. Personally i believe (again may be a snake oil situation of sorts) that if the speaker binding posts are not directly soldered to a PCB, it would perhaps be better to use high quality oxygen-free sleeved cabling. The reason is due to my experience with the C320 amp which features these copper rods. I noticed that owners would say, the amp used to sound nice but now its sounding a bit lack luster and dull. I could not really figure out the issue and left the blame on ageing components.

Then one day, a C320 arrived with the speaker cutting out intermittently. While tracing the signal path from the output transistors to the speaker relay (and the relay switching through the headphone socket), right to the binding posts, I discovered that there was roughly a one-ohm resistance showing up between the output transistors and the speaker binding posts for both channels (point where the speaker was wired). This was even after I replaced the faulty speaker relay (commonly fails in the old C320). I traced this down to these copper rods. One end of these rods, is soldered to the PCB while the other is bolted on to the speaker binding post. I noticed that over the years, they got badly corroded, to the extent that a resistance developed at the end which was bolted, due to poor contact.

As I believe in always retaining original design elements, I never attempted to upgrade or change these but from the day I started cleaning these properly and reinstalling them, users have started saying that the original sound has returned after servicing.

NAD has actually upgraded these copper rods that featured in the C320 and C325, to high quality oxygen-free sleeved cabling in the C326 (there is always a reason why manufacturers change a design and this reason may not always be commercial)

Hope this adds some perspective to your query.

 

[spirovious]

I can see in C352, copper rods are bend @90° ,not smooth as 135° angle as per industry standards.May all things are adding harshness in sound.

 

[Hiten]

Why is the 316bee V2 not available on any online purchase options? Can anybody point me to a distributor for 316bee in Delhi area?

That model is peculiar. Being that at extreme levels when high current is required it has proprietory (probably) circuits+bulb which lights up drawing current and saving transistors from operating above specs. Nothing wrong in that as we mostly listen at less volume levels.
Nice looking amplifier.
Regards.

 

[nn_in]

Why is the 316bee V2 not available on any online purchase options? Can anybody point me to a distributor for 316bee in Delhi area?

KEI ie Kripa electronic Industries ,Mumbai - i think is the main distributor for India now

 

[reubensm]

small change - C165BEE is a preamp while C375BEE is an integrated amp

 

[nn_in]

small change - C165BEE is a preamp while C375BEE is an integrated amp

Pls add /correct as needed . Thanks reubensm

	Year of launch	Amplifier Type	Model number	Topology
BEE	?	Integrated Integrated Integrated Pre Amp Power Amp	C 316 BEE V2 C326 BEE C 375 BEE C 165 BEE C 275 BEE	All Class AB
C	?	Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated Pre-Amp Power Amp Power Amp	C 328 C 338 C 368 C 388 C 510 C 268 C 298	All Hybrid DAC amps Eigentakt Purifi module
D	?	Integrated Integrated Integrated	D3020 V2 D 3045 D 3070	All Hybrid Digital amps
M (Masters)	?	Integrated Pre-Amp Power Amp Integrated	M32 M12 M 22 V2 M 10	All Direct Digital amps

Disclaimers apply : No affiliations.

 

[jmascreen]

Pls add /correct as needed . Thanks reubensm

	Year of launch	Amplifier Type	Model number	Topology
BEE	?	Integrated Integrated Integrated Pre Amp Power Amp	C 316 BEE V2 C326 BEE C 375 BEE C 165 BEE C 275 BEE	All Class AB
C	?	Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated Pre-Amp Power Amp Power Amp	C 328 C 338 C 368 C 388 C 510 C 268 C 298	All Hybrid DAC amps Eigentakt Purifi module
D	?	Integrated Integrated Integrated	D3020 V2 D 3045 D 3070	All Hybrid Digital amps
M (Masters)	?	Integrated Pre-Amp Power Amp Integrated	M32 M12 M 22 V2 M 10	All Direct Digital amps

Disclaimers apply

c320 is missing

C330

 

[nn_in]

c320 is missing

Pls feel free copy/edit table/ Then ask the moderator to remove the old table

 

[reubensm]

i think c320 is not on the list as only current models are listed (the newest model of this series is c326BEE)

 

[nn_in]

i think c320 is not on the list as only current models are listed (the newest model of this series is c326BEE)

Pls add /correct as needed . Thanks @reubensm

	Year of launch	Amplifier Type	Model number	Topology
BEE	?	Integrated Pre Amp Power Amp	C315BEE,C 316 BEE (V1 and V2),C320,C326BEE,C356BEE,C375BEE C 165 BEE C 275 BEE	All Class AB
C	?	Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated Pre-Amp Power Amp Power Amp	C 328 C 338 C 368 C 388 C 510 C 268 C 298	All Hybrid DAC amps Hypex UcD Eigentakt Purifi module
D	?	Integrated Integrated Integrated	D3020 V2 D 3045 D 3070	All Hybrid Digital amps
M (Masters)	?	Integrated Pre-Amp Power Amp Integrated	M32 M12 M 22 V2 M 10	All Direct Digital amps

Disclaimers apply : No affiliations.

 

[nn_in]

i think c320 is not on the list as only current models are listed (the newest model of this series is c326BEE)

Is this activity worth the effort ? Acquire a used nad316bee and convert it to pure power amp.Even bypass the tone/preamp stages.Why ? NAD sound w/o the mushy preamp!
Maybe folks would suggest get a used 326bee instead !

 

[reubensm]

Nice point actually, many use NAD integrateds either in their entirety or as preamps. The power amp sections of these integrateds are really good, infact better than some of the pure power amps out there. I am using a C160BEE driving the Power amp of a 3020. The power stage of the 3020 amplifier is one beautifully designed piece of electronics. Perhaps they could have used a bigger heatsink but otherwise, it sounds great. Here is a sample of a NAD 3020 poweramp section clone: