NAD C320 BEE

I recently bought a NAD C320BEE amplifier from ebay cheap so i expected problems,on switching on and selecting CD function it sat there doing nothing for about 2mins before the relay clicked,then it came time to listen and it sounded like a bag of spanners(hard and clattery), also if it was turned up to around half volume it would switch off into protection mode needing it to be switched off and back on again.

On removing the lid it was immediatly obvious the cause of the problem which was the two main power supply capacitors were bulging to the point of splitting no doubt caused by being only 50v and placed touching the two main heatsinks on the psu board.

At this point it is worth noting that smoothing capacitors need to have a voltage rating of at least 20% above the intended output voltage which in this case is 46v which would mean the 50v rating of the output capacitors was around 10v below what it should be.

I replaced the main power supply capacitors with 63v kemets which have a ripple current rating of three times that of the originals and the three other capacitors with high quality Panasonics also 63v.

it was then time to turn to the protection circuit luckily there was loads of info on the net and it became obvious that the culprit was a 85c 4.7uf capacitor which was sited touching a heatsink i replaced all three capacitors in the protection circuit with Panasonics of the same value but rated at 105c.

I then switched on and pressed the CD button and very quikly the relays clicked and it sprang to life, the difference was immediatly apparent the hard sound had turned into a smoother sound i kept it running on low for a few days to allow the capacitors to run in.

I have been running tha amplifier for a few weeks now with a Marantz CD Player and Quad 12L2 speakers and i am very impressed with its performance, the sound stage is wide open with a smooth treble, superb mid band and a full bass.

I am very impressed with the sound of this amplifier and would advise anyone to take a listen, however as the only way to get one of these Amps now is to buy second hand and due to the age of the Amp it will need a bit of work and not forgetting £25-£30 pounds worth of high quality components.

Ditto from the last reviewer

I have a Nad C320 as well. it is superb. With Grado SR 80! headphones' I hear detail I never heard before.

I am Using The Nad with a Rocksan K2 CD player and Atlas equator as connector

My speakers are Monitor Audio Silver S1 on Fisual Dynami Speaker stands Filled with £3 bag of Cat litter from Asda honest.. with unbranded clear speaker cable.

My main system is Roksan k2 amp and CD do not ask me to compare between the two amps I cant.. The Nad is as superb, A must hear. I bought it on Ebay as a secondary Amp just for music from my Imac via a Cambridge Dacmagic .

I Recommend The Nad C320 to anyone.

The gives NAD C320 BEE great sound.I recently bought NAD 320 BEE amp. I drive NAD with Technics SB-T200. Bass is very good. It drives easily these speakers. Lovely music performance .

The best entry level integrated amplifier, no one can do better. I have been using it already 3 years. The assembly quality and sound is what others do for 1000$. Much more better than toys from Marantz, Denon, Rotel, Cambridge Audio and Harman/Kardon. The bass and midrange are wonderful.

Really impressive!

This amplifier is great, its sound quality is superb, its easy to handle and use. I wish it had more features in the output-area.But all-in-all, it's a great amplifier.

The NAD C320 amplifier outperforms many competitors rating at twice the wattage. It has sufficient headroom to drive averagely demanding loudspeakers - it goes on packing punch where many amps rated at twice the output power run out of steam.

And it does so without harming the music in any way. It's a little gem. It won't shake the plaster off your ceiling, but it will do very very well when playing most any music at sensible levels.

I bought this for my mother, and she was mighty chuffed with it. I got it back as part of the inheritance, and you will have to pry it from my cold dead hands.

What a wonderful little piece of kit this is. A classic.

Great sound using 70s/80s Tanberg speakers with Cellestion 12" drivers, I do think manufacturers should consider built in head phone preamp with volume con so the speakers do not automatically switch off, such as myself with impared hearing turning up the volume too high for other listeners in the room, also microphone socket is always useful, also it would be nice to have some sort of indication of how much watts are being pumped into the speakers, not just by volume only,

In conclusion a great amp as an amp, to customise it up to my requirements I reckon would cost the same again what I paid for it, but you guys at NAD could have done it a lot cheaper, (just the price of a few bits of electronics) and you would have created a super duper great amplifier. Thanks anyway for the music.

Had my Nad amp and C320 CD Player for a few months and they have improved over time. Not jaw droppingly amazing but great entry level. Buying some mission speakers to replace some borrowed eltax so could improve more.

I tried this amp before I bought my Rega Brio, and I was thoroughly disappointed - almost agog by how over-rated it was. Yes I'd done the research, no I most definitely am NOT a snob, but I really wasn't prepared for just how mediocre the NAD C320 BEE amplifier proved to be.

Very low quality feel and average sound quality. I sent it back after the pain of hearing my beloved musical favourites treated with such apathy became too much. Sorry to all you NAD fans.

I have been using the integrated amplifier NAD C320BEE for 3 months. The standard look of the amplifier is good for me, and is real Hi-FI. The ratings of the C320BEE are honestly matching to its power consumption (2x50W - 230v, 1.5A). I have opened the case and found out that the amplifier has a very clever design inside, and good quality assembly. The toroidal transformer, big filter capacitors, and components are of good quality, and everything is done properly, with high respect to NAD. The sound of the amplifier has real HI-FI presentation. The first thing you can notice is musicality, everything is natural, well defined, and a little rounded. Such a sound is especially good for acoustic material and jazz, though quite different styles can be reproduced with the ease of a real professional. The highs are well defined, but not as airy, for example Marantz's, and not as bright as Yamaha's. The mids are very detailed and natural, and you will find many details unknown before. The bass has weight and drive, which is much appreciated in the music, but it is less impressive than, for example, the bass of the HK630 (Harman Kardon 1999). Anyway the NAD C320BEE is a very good amplifier for the price and overall sound quality, especially if you consider that NAD continues the good HI-FI traditions, while others forget them in the home theatre race. Thanks to NAD. 5 stars with confidence.