Item: NAD 320 BEE
Location: Doncaster East
Price: 150
Item Condition: Good
Reason for selling: Too many amps
Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal,
Extra Info: I've got a spare amp. A NAD 320BEE. Works Great. I was planning to use this in my computer room. But I've got too many amps at the moment.
I've a got a spare NAD 320 BEE amp. It works great. I was planning to use it in my computer room. But I've just got too many amps etc.. at the moment.
Pickup at Doncaster East, near the Pines Shopping Centre.
This is the writeup from NAD - http://nadelectronics.com/articles/Hi-Fi-Product-of-the-Year
NAD C 320BEE Integrated Amplifier GOODSOUND! GREAT BUY
NAD's C 320BEE is the Honda Civic of integrated amplifiers. Like the Civic, its design is no-frills, and it's intended for a basic purpose: in this case, to reproduce recorded music accurately at an affordable price ($399 USD). For a component to achieve this and be so relatively inexpensive—and make no mistake, the C 320BEE's overriding benefit is its cost—questions much of the conventional thinking that goes into buying audio equipment. Do you get more if you pay more? How much more do you get? And at what price do returns begin to diminish?
Description
The C 320BEE is a descendent of NAD's first low-cost, high-performance integrated amplifier, the 3020, which thrived in the late 1970s and early '80s. Audio legend and current NAD engineer Bjørn Erik Edvardsen designed the 3020, and his initials on the updated C 320BEE honor his continuing contributions
Cosmetically, the C 320BEE looks like just about every other piece of equipment NAD makes. You might find the dark gray face and body, white lettering, and light green power button distinctive and austerely simple, or you might find it drab and dull. You may also decide that at this price, you can live with it, because the build quality is unquestionably good for the price.
Of standard size (17"W x 4"H x 11.5"D) and weighing a bit more than 14 pounds, the C 320BEE feels solid and substantial. The gray knobs, including Bass and Treble (along with a Tone Defeat button to bypass both of them) and Balance, are plastic and turn tightly without the least wiggle. The volume knob in particular is a little small, and its indicator—a raised black line on the gray knob—is hard to see from a distance. The connectors, with inputs for five line-level sources and two tape loops, are gold-plated and secure.
While seven inputs seems generous, it excludes one for a turntable, and though NAD (and other manufacturers) make auxiliary phono stages, its absence from the C 320BEE may disqualify it for some. And, of course, you won't be able to listen to the radio without dedicating one of those inputs to a tuner. Again, these represent choices. For instance, the amp does come with a system remote control for inputs, volume adjustment, activating the Mute function, and operating other NAD components. It also has a headphone jack, which is not a given among integrated amplifiers as you climb the price-and-quality ladder.
For the more ambitious, the C 320BEE can also serve as a preamp to an outboard power amp. By and large, this amp tries to appeal to the listener who plays CDs, perhaps would like to patch in an MP3 player every now and then, might use the amp to watch DVDs in two-channel stereo, and needs to listen privately from time to time.
The two channels of the C 320BEE are rated at 50W per, but had the clean punch and strong capability of a rating double that. In a normal listening environment with reasonably efficient loudspeakers, the C 320BEE delivers a steady stream of continuous wattage while holding some in reserve for when extra is necessary.
Setup
The C 320BEE isn't one to put on airs, and doesn't expect a lot of other fancy components to do its work. My CDs for this article were played on a Pioneer DV-353 CD/DVD player, hooked up with one-notch-above-the-bottom Monster Cable interconnects. I tested the C 320BEE with the comparably entry-level Paradigm Titan bookshelf speakers, on stands that raised the tweeters to just about my seated ear level and hooked up with 18-gauge lamp cord from the hardware superstore. Later I switched to another set of bookshelf speakers, the German-made MB Quart QLC 204s: ultraprecise, unforgiving, and a slight upgrade from the creamy-smooth presentation of the similarly sized Titans.
Sound
In the quest for perfection, it doesn't get much more perfect than Ella Fitzgerald, and when paired with the great Louis Armstrong on Ella & Louis [Universal 589598], all the charm and sweetness of her singing begs to pour from the speakers. The NAD C 320BEE was crystal clear in its ability to convey every nuanced syllable in "A Foggy Day" and the arresting stillness of her tone in "Moonlight in Vermont," almost as if Ella's voice were suspended on monofilament wire secured in place by the amp. From that level of quietude to the ebullience of her and Armstrong's exchange on "Can't We Be Friends," the C 320BEE efficiently established the contrast of Ella's purity with Louis's grit. On "The Nearness of You," the C 320BEE locked in Ray Brown's bass with dead-stop certainty.
The NAD C 320BEE is a "safe" choice. It isn't perfect—it has little pizzazz, it's not much to look at, and its knobs aren't terribly pleasing to the touch—but its priorities are in order. It plays music without resorting to gimmickry, and fills you with pride of ownership. NAD has made some choices to keep the C 320BEE's cost down, but hasn't compromised the quality of the music this integrated amplifier is able to make.
Written by Jeff Stockton
from
http://nadelectronics.com/articles/Hi-Fi-Product-of-the-Year
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