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Nad c356bee

Art K. said:
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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The price I got on them was around $1400.00. They were on my "list".
 
Very nice. I have always liked the newer NAD integrated amps that I've heard. A lot of bang for the buck in those and a cleaner, more transparent sound than the type of vintage gear I was using when I first heard them ('70s receivers). I'd love to hear those speakers, I'm sure there has to be a dealer around me that has a pair.
 
JohnVF said:
Very nice. I have always liked the newer NAD integrated amps that I've heard. A lot of bang for the buck in those and a cleaner, more transparent sound than the type of vintage gear I was using when I first heard them ('70s receivers). I'd love to hear those speakers, I'm sure there has to be a dealer around me that has a pair.
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Music Direct should be one of the first.
 
It's hard to really audition things there. I'm assuming Bes would set up a pair of speakers to hear, but they really have a limited showroom, and I'd hate to have them drag out a pair if I'm not buying. Maybe when I buy that Brio-R for the office?
 
Congratulations on the new NAD amp Catcher10. I'm also one who thinks NAD Classic Series amps offer a lot of sound for the money. The newest versions sound better than ever. NAD seems to add small evolutionary improvements with each new iteration.

I recently upgraded from a NAD C372 integrated to a C275 power amp which I'm using with a separate preamp/DAC. The reason your thread caught my eye was that I'm also running Epos speakers with my NAD, though they are slightly older M12.2's on target stands.

I bet the Epic 2's sound great with the c356bee. Happy listening.
 
Thanks demondog......I am enjoying it very much. Have been letting it play continuously to help with break in time. I think I spent a good amount of time researching it. Going to NAD was easy, just deciding on which was my challenge........although Rega Brio-R was stiff competition.

So far it is marrying well with the Epic 2's, low-end deficient right now with the new amp and also my DAC11 which I happened to roll in a new tube, so both need a lot of burn in time.

I will say it is a very, very quiet amp.
 
demondog said:
Congratulations on the new NAD amp Catcher10. I'm also one who thinks NAD Classic Series amps offer a lot of sound for the money. The newest versions sound better than ever. NAD seems to add small evolutionary improvements with each new iteration.

I recently upgraded from a NAD C372 integrated to a C275 power amp which I'm using with a separate preamp/DAC. The reason your thread caught my eye was that I'm also running Epos speakers with my NAD, though they are slightly older M12.2's on target stands.

I bet the Epic 2's sound great with the c356bee. Happy listening.
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The 12.2's are a lot better than the 12i's so ya done good.

Indeed the NAD Classics are outstanding amps for the money, great value.
 
Art K, wasn't it you that had a pair of M12i's back in '09 in which you didn't like the treble, thus being one of the first to uncover a problem with the M12i tweeter level? I think I remember a conversation on the old Epos forum. You switched to Totem speakers I think. Or maybe it's someone else I'm thinking of.

I had just bought the M12.2's after listening to both versions of the Epos M12 at Audio Connections. I preferred the sound of the 12.2's, and they were priced lower as well.
 
demondog said:
Art K, wasn't it you that had a pair of M12i's back in '09 in which you didn't like the treble, thus being one of the first to uncover a problem with the M12i tweeter level? I think I remember a conversation on the old Epos forum. You switched to Totem speakers I think. Or maybe it's someone else I'm thinking of.

I had just bought the M12.2's after listening to both versions of the Epos M12 at Audio Connections. I preferred the sound of the 12.2's, and they were priced lower as well.
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That was me. I was about to become the top poster at the Epos & Creek forum when they closed it down. I had received some very negative PM's from Luke Creek and Jacki Pugh of Creek Audio. It was a pretty bad experience as audio goes. After all of them telling me I was nuts...they announced that they were making adjustments to the late production models and could give out resistors to folks who already had the "bright" M12i's. It was all very silly. They should have simply admitted the gaf and gotten on with their lives. We all make mistakes. I lost what was to me considerable money in the deal.

What was most difficult for me was that I had always supported Epos & Creek online and they threw me under the bus like my business meant nothing. Even since then I still speak honestly and candidly about my experiences with their products. This may the first time I've mentioned the fiasco since they closed down the Epos & Creek forum.

I loved the Creek 4330 amp that I had. Enjoyed most of my experiences listening to their products and yet they couldn't have cared less. Luke Creek said that he would help me but since I slagged him off online I could go.... you can guess the rest. Slagged him off, I simply asked questions which were met with very aggressive responses.

Enough of that I'm gettin' worked up...still a sore spot.

P.S. I only switched to the Totem speakers because they they were the only pair of used speakers that the dealer would let me trade the M12i's in on. Brand new $1200 speakers traded in on used $800 (when new) speakers. It was not good, just sayin'.

Probably why I say to buy anything from Epos, Creek and Music Hall from a good dealer that will back you up if it all goes to hell because those company's may not. Not sure if one would have better luck in the UK where you don't have to go through our distributor...it would be interesting to know.
 
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Art sir
On your NAD amps did/do you leave the soft clipping option ON? Currently I have it off but is there any benefit to leave it on. I don't turn up past 11 o'clock usually, maybe for a song or 2....but normally stays at 9 o'clock(ish).
 
Catcher10 said:
Art sir
On your NAD amps did/do you leave the soft clipping option ON? Currently I have it off but is there any benefit to leave it on. I don't turn up past 11 o'clock usually, maybe for a song or 2....but normally stays at 9 o'clock(ish).
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Definitely leave it off. Sounds better and with sensible use of your amp you shouldn't need it.
 
10-4......doing some listening tests today and I agree. The amp has maybe 30 hours now. So I just turned it up pretty loud and its not needed, takes some of the lowend away and reduces the soundstage some.

This amp is a beast! Listening to The Flower Kings thru the ZuneHD, .wma 256kps files and it just kicks serious tail..

John Coltrane was alive in my room earlier.......I mean really. His digital album With the Wind is so cool..Fifth House is brilliant.

This amp likes jazz and prog rock so far.....I'm happy!
 
Very Nice Amp. I always thought NAD made made good gear. I have their 1600 Monitor Series preamp/Tuner. It's pretty decent but IMO not their best effort and likey inferior to the preamp section in yours.

Note the 145 w of Dynamic Power at 8 ohms that amp can produce. Thats 2.6 db. My Onky AVR has like .7 DB headroom so don't be surprised if it sounds a heck of lot more powerfull than the 80 wpc would suggest.
 
^ Yea, I agree. Before this I had a Onkyo TX870 receiver 105wpc, this NAD is in another hemisphere compared to the Onkyo. Dynamics, soundstage, low noise.....excellent.

Yesterday I bi-wired the Epic 2's.....I notice not much difference really, maybe a hair better detail, but its tough.
I'll leave it for awhile and see how it sounds after the amp has another 30 hours or so. Plus the Dac11 has a new tube I rolled in and its still young.
 
Holy smokes!!

Well its been a couple more weeks since my last post. As you can see from my title I'm pretty excited! I have been leaving my amp playing almost daily with music source thru it, my ZuneHD on an endless loop.
When I get home I would then switch to vinyl just to give the Epos a different feel, they are only 3 months old.

Just today I heard the NAD change in front of my ears, luckily I worked from home today. I just kinda looked over and said.....'bout time buddy.." The room I am in is about 36' long by about 14' wide, it is our lower level great room. My desk is about 30' away from the speakers....all of a sudden it was like the sound just engulfed my immediate area. The soundstage just went from like a 6 to an 8, to explain it easier.
Low end increased, the bass became more pronounced and beefy, when needed. As I changed source the bass took on a tighter feel....I went from vinyl to CD.
I went back to vinyl and it was so nice, vibrant yet not too much in your face. The mids became steady, I was listening to Rush Fly By Night. Geddy's vocals became cleaner and Alex Lifeson's guitar became less "shrilly" and the distorted sound was...understood now.

I played some Diana Krall Live in Paris......a reference digital album for me....Holy smokes!! She was in my room singing and playing the piano, especially the track A Case of You.....you could anticipate her vocals and hear her fingers hitting the key pads. The live crowd coughing was cool as it sounded so...well real. The NAD likes live music!

I went back to vinyl. I have not been happy with my Genesis album Foxtrot.....It has been very muddy and non-detailed. Not anymore!! Collins drumming has not sounded this nice on vinyl and Tony Banks mellotron, well now it sounds the way it should. Nice deep bass that flowed from the Epos.....I played Suppers Ready twice since it is such a nice long epic which allowed me to experience all the nuances that the NAD was now giving me. The soundstage on this album had backed off some, its not the remastered version. But I was really liking the better "brightness" now.

I have not been giving the NAD much volume over the past 3 weeks.....I figured now was the time, I was home alone and volume was not an issue.
Switched to the ZuneHD and selected some Coltrane......turned it up to 10 o'clock...then to 12 o'clock....Ohhh boy the NAD was singing! The Epos did not struggle, the bass became very tight and deep.....A bit too much highs but I figured that since it was digital, and also I am only about 40 hours into a Jan Phillips 6922 in the DAC11. I switched the DAC11 to SS out and it calmed down some, letting me know the 6922 needs more time.

I took Art's advise and purchased the Audioquest preamp jumpers, received 3 days ago but they need about 150 hrs breakin according to an AQ email. And also I switched back to standard speaker connection as I was not hearing any difference by bi-wire......I will try it later.

Needless to say I am beyond happy with this amp, as of right now it is proving to be the beast I thought it would be.
I will also mention that this amp runs very, very cool, it vents very nicely, even during the weekend when I leave it on probably 18hrs a day with music playing.

Ok back to listening.....Cheers everyone!
 
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