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Nad c356bee

Catcher10

Catcher10

Prog-tastic!
Well I pulled the trigger yesterday on a NAD C356BEE amplifier, I should have it within 7 days.

I spent about an 2hr listening to 3 different amps.

1) Rega Brio-R. Very, very nice amp. Really nothing bad to say about this amp...but I like tone controls. The audiophile store I was at pretty much uses hi-rez files thru a Sonos direct and occasionally wireless, according to the seller. The Brio-R was mated with the Rega DAC, so I was listening to about $1800.00 worth of equipment, and the sound was going thru B&W CM1, which I like.
If I was a 90% user of digital files, this would be the amp for me, hands down.

2) NAD C326BEE. Really nice amp, very clear, nice reproduction, but seemed to be missing some a$$ end with the CM1s. I found myself giving the bass knob a turn to about 2 o'clock. For the price this is an unbeatable amp, clearly at the top of that price range....but my wife said I could spend more :banana:

3) NAD C356BEE. This amp blew me away. Beefy, big sound, excellent mid-low end, incredibly quiet. Great features, tons of input options.....and the little blue lights are cool.
The vinyl section was real nice with the supplied MDC phono preamp, it had a nicer soundstage than the Brio-R on vinyl.
The digital files were amazing.....although I think the Rega is a bit better, but again that was with the Rega DAC, which is expensive and not needed since I already own the Grant Fidelity TubeDAC11, and since I listen to mainly vinyl at home, that's what I migrated to.

I think this amp will mate nicely with my Epos Epic 2's.

So eventually I will post my home review of the NAD C356BEE here.
 
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I also forgot to mention the Brio-R prefers 8-ohms, I'm sure 4-ohms is fine but I think Rega has an issue with that.
My Epic 2s are 4ohms.
 
NAD C356BEE...day one

Well my new amp arrived a few days early, audio store called me this morning......I connected it today and have been playing with it for several hours now.
After having a departure ceremony of my Onkyo TX870:tears:......I pulled it out and set it on the table. It has treated me well for many years but time to make room for the beast.
In true NAD fashion, its very plain front and nothing fancy....I like that.

I also pulled out the ADC EQ, not needed anymore. The Grant Fidelity TubeDAC11 has made the EQ not needed.

After making all the connections I turned it on and played Rush The Camera Eye on CD.
I immediately noticed how much more alive my Epos Epic 2s had become, must be the PowerDrive technology....I like it.
After that I switched to my ZuneHD, the digital sounded so much more real now. With the DAC11, and NAD C356BEE its a much more open sound for sure.

Then I put on DSOtM on the TT.....holy smokes!! that sounds so nice. The NAD helped clean up some of the noisy AT TT stuff....I hear more musical passages I had not heard before.

The one thing I noticed off the bat with each source was how warm and how the dynamics and soundstage has opened up.
Audio seller told me it needs about 500 hours of break in time...seems like a lot, maybe 200 and I will post more.

And the blue lights are cool. A lot of listening tomorrow for sure....

Cheers!
 
Congrats Catcher, you have made some great upgrades. From the NAD you just bought, to the Epos monitors, to the GF DAC11. If I may be allowed to make a suggestion. You made mention in an earlier post that you chose the NAD over the Rega due to tone controls that you felt were necessary to make up for a lack of the lower register of Bass that your monitors can't produce. Your sound will be cleaner bypassing the tone controls. I would suggest making your next purchase a small sealed powered sub to bring your lower octaves in for a full sound. You have a preout on that amp that is dying for a powered sub. You will thank yourself for it.

Also, are you using the phono section built in to your amp? If not, I would suggest trying it. I would bet that you will get better sound than what is built into your current table. I can't stress enough how important a good phono section is for the analog realm.
 
MWalt said:
Congrats Catcher, you have made some great upgrades. From the NAD you just bought, to the Epos monitors, to the GF DAC11. If I may be allowed to make a suggestion. You made mention in an earlier post that you chose the NAD over the Rega due to tone controls that you felt were necessary to make up for a lack of the lower register of Bass that your monitors can't produce. Your sound will be cleaner bypassing the tone controls. I would suggest making your next purchase a small sealed powered sub to bring your lower octaves in for a full sound. You have a preout on that amp that is dying for a powered sub. You will thank yourself for it.

Also, are you using the phono section built in to your amp? If not, I would suggest trying it. I would bet that you will get better sound than what is built into your current table. I can't stress enough how important a good phono section is for the analog realm.
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Thanks MWalt.....I did choose it over the Rega for sound massaging options and also I felt the NAD sounded better when the audio seller played some vinyl for me. The lower end is much better now with the NAD, it certainly provides the Epos with that lower end the Onkyo could not. Hence I have been using the Tone Defeat option on the NAD, and right now I agree with you, its a much natural sound.
The NAD does not have a PHONO In, this is the MDC series and I can purchase the MDC Phono module, I run the TT thru the DAC11. I probably will purchase the MDC PP375 pre @ $199 its a no brainer add on. Right now I am still enjoying what thr DAC11 is doing for my vinyl. This ATLP120 has noisy floor, it has helped a lot.

I will be TT hunting in the near future.....bonus money coming..hmm:scratch2:
 
Art K. said:
Excellent! Waitin' for the pics!
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Thank you sir! Just took some updated pics....here u go. Also thanks for the jumper suggestion, never thought about that. The included jumpers are decent, these certainly look better.....Will order a set today..THANKS!!

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Very nice! I'd like to hear a set of those Epic 2's. They received very nice reviews in Stereophile from both Robert Reina and Sam Tellig.
 
The reviews are why I migrated to the Epos and once I heard them a couple times...I was hooked. And I had also considered B&W CM1 and Vandersteen 1C.
The B&W are a grand, but I don't think I am missing much with the $800 Epic 2s...
 
Catcher10 said:
The reviews are why I migrated to the Epos and once I heard them a couple times...I was hooked. And I had also considered B&W CM1 and Vandersteen 1C.
The B&W are a grand, but I don't think I am missing much with the $800 Epic 2s...
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Not a all. Nice speakers. :thmbsp:
 
Catcher10 said:
Actually the Music Hall dealer here had them on sale for $699......cha-ching! No brainer...
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My Epos dealer has them for $679...very tempting for someone who needs a front room speaker and can't afford the Harbeth's and Spendor's that he would like to have!
 
^ Sweet deal if you ask me. I have not seen any reviews on the new Elan, but I believe they are 2x the price. To my knowledge you get real wood veneer and a bit bigger mid/bass driver...but that's all.
 
Catcher10 said:
^ Sweet deal if you ask me. I have not seen any reviews on the new Elan, but I believe they are 2x the price. To my knowledge you get real wood veneer and a bit bigger mid/bass driver...but that's all.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing that the Elan's will have higher quality parts throughout. Better parts in the crossover, cast baskets on the drivers, better binding posts and internal wiring, and so on. I also think that they will be 2x the price.
 
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