Show of hands: How many in this thread dissing the NAD have actually
heard NAD's current BBE line of integrated amps? High current? Fie, they
can go all day into 4 ohms. Also, NAD amp designs are all about the
headroom, so whatever their power rating, their ability to hit clean peaks will
make them sound more powerful than their RMS ratings.
I auditioned my Maggie 1.7s driven by the 150 wpc C 375BEE and it made
them sing. I had a bit of tweaking and swapping with my gear at home to
match the resolution I got at the demo. It eventually took a handwired line
stage feeding a vintage Perreaux.
I recently installed the 80 wpc C 356BEE in my neighbor's system, replacing
a Cambridge 640 integrated, and the sound was so luscious and dimensional
the owner could tell the difference from his upstairs office and came running
down the stairs to see what happened.
The Spendors are rated at 88dB at 1w input. In many cases, the power
required is going to depend on room size. Since you like NAD (for good
reason) but worry about power delivery, why not bump up to the C 356BEE
at 80 wpc? It's about $250 more but worth it for the bump in power and
resolution. It's an Absolute Sound Editor's Choice, and I can definitely see
why. It's a real sleeper among affordable integrateds.
heard NAD's current BBE line of integrated amps? High current? Fie, they
can go all day into 4 ohms. Also, NAD amp designs are all about the
headroom, so whatever their power rating, their ability to hit clean peaks will
make them sound more powerful than their RMS ratings.
I auditioned my Maggie 1.7s driven by the 150 wpc C 375BEE and it made
them sing. I had a bit of tweaking and swapping with my gear at home to
match the resolution I got at the demo. It eventually took a handwired line
stage feeding a vintage Perreaux.
I recently installed the 80 wpc C 356BEE in my neighbor's system, replacing
a Cambridge 640 integrated, and the sound was so luscious and dimensional
the owner could tell the difference from his upstairs office and came running
down the stairs to see what happened.
The Spendors are rated at 88dB at 1w input. In many cases, the power
required is going to depend on room size. Since you like NAD (for good
reason) but worry about power delivery, why not bump up to the C 356BEE
at 80 wpc? It's about $250 more but worth it for the bump in power and
resolution. It's an Absolute Sound Editor's Choice, and I can definitely see
why. It's a real sleeper among affordable integrateds.