gto47
Member
Hi all. I've used a lot of different fringe hi-fi brands over the years. Adcom, Nikko, NAD, Sansui. I've owned them all - some in multiples - but i'm a 'young' guy here which sometimes makes me unsure how a given component should have performed in its price bracket when new.
The then-new NAD C320BEE was my first attempted foray into hi-fi. Although even before that I had owned a trash picked Nikko NR-800 (of which i tragically broke the PCB by hitting the treble knob against something). That was actually a pretty nice amp retrospectively, maybe better than the C320.
After about 8 years of ownership my conclusion now seems to be that it never was a very good amp to begin with. Today I tested the preamp sections with an Adcom GFA-555 II. My usual workhorse preamp is an integrated NAD 7140, hooked via pre-out to the Adcom.
The difference between the 7140 and the C320 is huge. Its easiest to notice at low volume levels where the c320 sounds dull and the 7140 sounds lifelike on my OHM L supertweeter. Because I used the same power amp in both tests, I know that its the preamp that ruins the C320's performance. The dull treble continues into higher volumes, and the thing never really delivers satisfaction.
Back in '88 the 7140 would have had a similar price range to the C320 at around $450 from what I can gather. Remember we must factor in that the 7140 also included a Phono section as well as a pretty awesome tuner. The 3xxx would have been more comparable in price and was basically the same amp minus the tuner. I've heard similarly great sound from the NAD 7020 which has the worst used value of all the NAD amps.
I would like to believe that sheer cheapness is not the cause of mediocre sound here, and that maybe the dull "neutral" sound is intentional. Are there any modifications that could be done to improve the preamp section? And secondly, what is the mark of a good preamp section? Is it just a matter of poor circuit design, or have they gone with some really crap components?
The then-new NAD C320BEE was my first attempted foray into hi-fi. Although even before that I had owned a trash picked Nikko NR-800 (of which i tragically broke the PCB by hitting the treble knob against something). That was actually a pretty nice amp retrospectively, maybe better than the C320.
After about 8 years of ownership my conclusion now seems to be that it never was a very good amp to begin with. Today I tested the preamp sections with an Adcom GFA-555 II. My usual workhorse preamp is an integrated NAD 7140, hooked via pre-out to the Adcom.
The difference between the 7140 and the C320 is huge. Its easiest to notice at low volume levels where the c320 sounds dull and the 7140 sounds lifelike on my OHM L supertweeter. Because I used the same power amp in both tests, I know that its the preamp that ruins the C320's performance. The dull treble continues into higher volumes, and the thing never really delivers satisfaction.
Back in '88 the 7140 would have had a similar price range to the C320 at around $450 from what I can gather. Remember we must factor in that the 7140 also included a Phono section as well as a pretty awesome tuner. The 3xxx would have been more comparable in price and was basically the same amp minus the tuner. I've heard similarly great sound from the NAD 7020 which has the worst used value of all the NAD amps.
I would like to believe that sheer cheapness is not the cause of mediocre sound here, and that maybe the dull "neutral" sound is intentional. Are there any modifications that could be done to improve the preamp section? And secondly, what is the mark of a good preamp section? Is it just a matter of poor circuit design, or have they gone with some really crap components?
