transperency...transperency

no phono section

I recently had to sell a $1500.00 integrated amp, which will remain nameless(from New Zealand)for financial reasons. However I had to get SOMETHING less expensive to replace it. I had to have tunes. I had heard many good things about a little 50 WPC int. amp from NAD, model C320BEE. Saw one on e-bay and thought I'd take a chance without ever hearing it and snatched it up. Well it's the best chance purchase I've ever made. I was shocked, it was better than the $1500 one I sold. I don't normally recommend buying something without auditioning but in the case of the C320BEE, go right ahead it's that good.

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B&K, Rotel, ADCOM, PERREAUX, Counterpoint

Very clear at low volumes robust and high quality output Can be used as a Pre am or an Amp Remote can control other NAD products as well

Volume tends to "Jump" at the low level ie a small twist brings about a big change...would have liked more control

I Must say i am very impressed with this Amp. I had been using a marantz 7000 and although this is loser in price this is a step up in audio quality. I user very sensitive speakers hence do not need the volume over 7 -O-Clock, but even at that volume get a very clear soundstage and very good tranparency. Sure is a good value and i dig the Serious Sober Grey color as well :)

Similar Products Used:

Marantz 7000, Rotel 920AX

Consistent and good sound from deep to high. Powerful considering the manufacturer's output rating. Plenty of inputs. Pre out/Main in connects. Supplied remote covers additional NAD source components.

Volume moves too quick using the remote.

A general rule for equipment of any kind is that you get what you pay for. In stereo equipment NAD is, in my experience, the exception to this rule. With NAD you usually get more than you pay for. I'm in the process of piecing together a decent setup after living some years with a generic-type bookshelf mini system. After getting my hands on a couple of good speakers, it still sounded pretty horrible using the bookshelf reciever. The step up that the 320BEE representet is way more than I expected from something in this price range. I'm still using the B.S. (pun intended) for a CD player, but intend to change that as soon as I get a chance to go to the stereo shop. And guess what brand I'm going for ;-) There are a few justified gripes some people have with certain NAD products but generally speaking, in the budget price range, I daresay that you can't go wrong with NAD.

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Older NAD stuff. Can't remember the model numbers...

Nice clean look, no crappy flashing lights to make it look cheesy. However, the plastic knobs feel cheap when touched. Good headphone amp.

Needs a bass booster switch to make the Grados thump right (SR80 to SR325). The treble/bass controls are worthless. You need to select the input everytime you turn it on. The volume knob feels flimsy, and could use a small light.

I got this amp (NAD C320BEE) recently. It does sound great and the headphone jack doubles as a great headphone amp. However, I agree with the poster that said the tone controls are entirely worthless. It takes away from the product to put something so worthless on a great amp, and goes againtst the NAD simplicity concept. They dials don't do much at all! It would have been better to leave that section blank! What this amp really needs is a bass booster switch. I know this is taboo in high end gear, but a well kept secret is that this boost really makes the Grados sing. I almost prefer to listen to them on my old JVC boombox because they sound so damn good with the bass booster on that thing. Clean, tight, detailed bass that WOWS anyone that I ask to listen to it. But when I plug the Grados into the NAD, the midrange has a fullness that the boombox cannot touch. But the bass is always disappointing. A bass booster switch would fix it! Oh well. Guess I'm stuck with the Senn HD600 on the NAD.

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An embarassing amount of bought, tested, and returned stuff. Will the quest ever end!

Bass is deep and powerfull. The middle and hights are just right.

None.

This is a review of the original NAD C320. I bought this amplifier four years ago. I liked it then and now I like it even more. I have not yet heard any budget amplifier that can match this little NAD when it comes to power, detail and feeling. The dynamics are awesome. The music comes alive. It never lets you down. It's rated at only 40W/ch but when you listen to it you get a feeling that this has to be a big joke. The powerhandling is awesome. It sounds big, clean and detailed. The bass is rock solid and deep, the midrange is very natural and the treble is exactly right. I know there are audiophiles out there that use the power section of this amp as an poweramplifier. Feeding it with delicate signals from a source costing three to five times the cost of the C320 ,- and with a separate and very expensive preamplifier they got Hi-Fi nirvana or maybe not Hi-Fi but something better.... The powersection in this amp, as it is with the original NAD 3020, is maybe some of the best ever made in the history of Hi-Fi. The C320 may soon be history as the new C320BEE has entered the Hi-Fi arena. Grab one if you can.....

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Cambridge Audio

Off the chart price/performance ratio, remote, sweet midrange.

no phono input, industrial look.

This review is for the C320BEE. This is my first purchase of an NAD product. A sweet little intergrated this is. Pleasant midrange, good resolution of details, has enough power for most people (conservative 50 wpc rating plus NAD's famous dynamic headroom power), lots of input except phono. The look is industrial like other NAD products, and the built quality is good for the price (the amp is built in China, like many other audio manufacturers these days to keep cost down). Has a nice synergy with PSB speakers which I am using. Overall, great bang for the buck. Also need to put in a good word for dealer DMC - great price and good service, can't ask for more.

Similar Products Used:

Audible Illusion Modulus pre-amp, McCormack DNA 0.5 power amp, B&K amp and pre-amp, Carver.

Midrange detail, low cost, large number of inputs, banana speaker plugs

Cheap plastic face plate, no A/B speakers, no separate preamp out, no phono input, colour is not black and won't match with other black components, too much midrange presence at the expense of treble and bass levels (to me hifi is great performance all through the frequency range as opposed to lo-fi or transistor radios which perform mainly in the mid range frequencies), remote control volume increments too coarse,

This review is for the NAD C320BEE integrated amp: Firstly, I have so far resisted the home theatre temptation as I realise that my limited budget is much better spent on good 2 channel gear rather than the constantly evolving (superseding!) 5/6 channel gear. I'm also a bit of a perfectionist and my music collection is 2 channel anyway (rock CD's and LP's). So I did a lot of investigation reading magazines, surfing the web, visiting all the local hifi dealers etc and started with Yamaha's AX/RX-596 amps/receivers which had good features/specs but when it came to a direct listening comparison, the NAD had a better more realistic/live/dynamic sound. I then read 'What HiFi' magazine and was captivated by the Rotel RA01/02 for it's looks/dimensions and performance. (A side note here is the downloading of product owner's manuals from the web which I think is great as you can read all about the product and how it hooks up without actually buying it - unreal for me ! I also liked the way Rotel thanked you for purchasing their amp which is sadly missing in so many manuals these days.) So I demo'd both the NAD and Rotel side by side with a selection of my favourite rock CD's. I really wanted to buy the Rotel (even though it was $300AU dearer) as it looked much better and sounded similar to the NAD during the test - so far. Then I put on a Doors CD with their famous song "Break on Through...." and I could not believe the sound of the snare drum. Previously it had only sounded like a load 'banging' noise but through the NAD I immediately had this image/sound of the drumstick hitting the drum skin which I had never heard before. As a drummer this was music to my ears and convinced me to go for the NAD - despite it's cheap plastic face plate and no A/B speakers and no extra preamp out and no phono input !!!! It came down to price and I had to have a remote control.....

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yamaha rx 596, rotel RA02

Very low noise amp with toroidal power supply. Clean sound, looks and price. Great buy!!!!!!

Not enough treble, but that's a weakness that most companies have nowadays.

Looks nice and clean and sounds very clean,doesn't weigh much but seems to have plenty of power. Great amp for the price. Could use more treble and possibly a switched outlet since most CD players don’t come with a 12-volt trigger; but of course NADs do. There seems to be an emphasis on bass lately and a de-emphasis on treble. In fact some high-end companies have omitted tone controls entirely, yet have some kind of bass management for the low notes where the least audible detail is, even though nearly every piece of equipment I've seen can overkill on bass anyway. What about treble? It’s a proven fact that we all don’t hear alike and also as one gets much older, their ability to hear very high notes decreases slightly. I guess when I become a senior citizen I may have to purchase an equalizer, because of the high-end fad. Here’s a challenge for the high-end companies: a treble control which boosts 12 decibels, but doesn’t boost distortion and noise. Customers should be able to adjust tone according to their hearing and room acoustics and not according to someone else’s opinion.

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B&K PT3 pre amp adcam power amp.

Tight, punchy bass. Beautiful imaging. Nice minimal design. Great overall sound. Incredible price tag. The list goes on...

That infamous volume knob! Not awful, but not exactly great... Feels more like turning the knob on a shower radio. Well, not that bad, but you know what i'm saying...

Not having had much experience with brand new audio equipment, it was quite a shock to me when I hooked up this amp and it sounded, well, not what I'd expected considering the fine reviews I'd seen of it. The treble was harsh, bright, and qutie frankly, not very pleasing at all. Having read that amps need a while to burn in when new though, I let it run over night, slept at a friend's house and when I came back in the morning, was pleasantly surprised. Much of this initial harshness was gone, and things only got better from there. I've now had it running for over 150 hours, and the thing is absolutely brilliant. Concerning the sound, first of all, to anyone considering purchasing this amp, dont be put off by the 50 wpc power rating. This thing sounds a lot more powerful than this rating would lead one to believe. This amp has tight and punchy bass, full, rewarding, and yet not overstated. Mids are crisp and clear, and treble is silky and smooth. I listen to many different types of music, and the amp handles well in all situations. Fast and furious Drum & Bass, such as Ed Rush & Optical - no problem. The amp goes low with deep and satisfying authority, clarity and punch. More ambient Drum & Bass, such as LTJ Bukem etc. - no prob! The silky treble, great imaging and subtlety of the amp will certainly please. How about jazz? beautiful! Handled with a deft touch. Classical? Rachmaninov's Isle of the dead was astounding in scale and nuance. Electronic is also done extremely well. I continue to find more and more levels to Autechre. Handles Squarepusher nicely - a tough test indeed. Quark Kent's synth lines are incredible, ethereal. Dj Krush's beats sound even fatter and juicier than ever. What I'm tring to say is that this amp is extremely versatile. It handles all situations with power and authority, but also with a deft touch and exquisite refinement. Not Halcro or Krell or Pass refinement, but refinement none the less. Seriously, though, if you are looking for an amp up to 150 wpc for about this price, look no further. It impresses. As an aside, let me just say how impressed I am with NAD. I think that they are one of the best companies in audio today. While other companies continue to overstate power outputs and other specs, NAD are completely honest and conservative in their disclosure of specifications. The c320bee int. amp. puts to shame many other amps i've heard that were rated up to 150wpc by supposedly reputable companies in the Hi-Fi industry. The c320bee is rated at 50wpc. I believe that NAD acts exactly how an audio company should act. Instead of using cheap marketing ploys and unrealistic claims to sell products, they tell you honestly what you need to know, and then let their products speak for themselves. I believe that audio enthusiasts need to support this kind of behaviour on principle. It's too few and far between, especially in the med. to low price bands!!!

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many and assorted medium to low end integrated amps.

Control, strong bass, headroom, easy playing. Nice midrange. Shows good recordings well.

Visibility of volume-knob indicating position.

Hello fellow music-lovers, I have been using the C320 for two years now, and I am still happy with it. It has a clear, distortion-free sound that sounds best with good recordings. Bad recordings are banned to hell. I drive two Swans Diva 5.1 loudspeakers with Marantz CD63MKII KI-Signature and Pro Ject Debut One. I have dared to seek the maximum acceptable Db limit of this system this weekend. This is that loud, that it is not funny to do. When Michael Jackson "crawls out your speakers" it is loud enough. I am happy. This amplifier is very stable. It even drives Audiostatic ES-100 to high levels, for example Rammstein.

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None.