Raw Power For A Relative Pittance

September 1,2005
Kevin Hunt
courant.com
Tribune Newspapers: The Hartford Courant

Do not be ashamed to admit that you still listen to music sitting in front of two speakers. It's OK. That does not make you a fuddy-duddy, just a little unusual in this new world of iPods, surround-sound home theaters, streaming audio and whole-house network systems.

Stereo - or, in today's techspeak, two-channel audio - survives in many homes as the cozy system for bedroom, workshop or sunroom. It also survives in the brown-bag aesthetic of NAD Electronics, which still builds stereo components that look, and sound, uncannily like its most famous creation, the 3020 integrated amplifier.

The new C325BEE, in fact, was designed by Bjorn Erik Edvardsen, whose 3020 (circa 1979) was recently ranked the greatest integrated amplifier in hi-fi history by a British magazine. This killer BEE, and its predecessor, the C320BEE, carry the stamp of Edvardsen's initials.

The original 3020 has been recognized not so much for its performance but for its performance at a bargain price, about $175 in 1979 dollars. It sounded smooth, rich, clean and punchy - almost too much like the most expensive audio toys back then.

An integrated amplifier combines a preamplifier and amplifier in a single chassis. (Imagine a stereo receiver without an AM/FM tuner.) The C325BEE has a 50-watt amplifier but delivers more than double that power in short bursts. NAD should have gone entirely retro, with a phono input for a turntable - you know, the analog music player that spins 12-inch vinyl platters at 33.3 rpm. But it makes a notable concession to the present: a minijack input on the front panel for an iPod or other digital music player.

The C325BEE costs $399, which, in 2006 dollars, is still a relatively modest gateway to big-time sonics. And unlike the original, this one has a remote control.

Some dealers are unloading the C320BEE, which also retailed for $399, for less than $300 to make room for the almost-identical C325BEE. Here are a few differences: Besides being iPod-ready, the C325BEE has a master on/off switch on the back panel; a more rigid, fully-vented metal chassis; and slightly lower distortion. Purists will like that NAD has eliminated a capacitor or two in the signal path for, theoretically, a cleaner sound. But it'll take a highly discerning ear to hear the difference between these two brother BEEs.

NAD's integrated amplifiers

(www.nadelectronics.com) get a lot of attention from audio purists on a budget. For maybe $750, about the cost of a set of speaker cables in the high-end-audio stratosphere, these budgeteers can assemble a knockout system.

My test setup alternated the C320BEE and C325BEE with a pair of Infinity Primus 150 bookshelf speakers (typically $150 or less) and the Oppo Digital DV-970HD (www.oppodigital.com), a $149 upconverting DVD player that also plays high-resolution SACD and DVD-Audio discs. A logical companion CD-only player would be NAD's C521BEE, which costs $299. Another price-performance marvel, the Insignia speakers from Best Buy at a shocking $50 a pair, also produced some beautiful sounds. The discounted C320BEE, Insignia speakers and the Oppo DV-970HD would cost about $500 and still embarrass some big-money setups.

I liked everything about the older C320BEE except turning it on. Talk about inflation: Two buttons, the power switch and the CD or other source button must be pressed before the NAD gets running. Fortunately, NAD restored a saner, one-button system to the new model.

But the coupon-clipper in me spots a bargain in the C320BEE. I could live with the two-button turn-on for a $100 discount. And with a $4 adapter from RadioShack, the C320BEE back-panel connections will gladly accept an iPod.

Either way, these NAD integrated amplifiers mean business - they're all music.

Powerhouse

As much as I liked the C320BEE and C325BEE integrated amplifiers, the real surprise in my extensive NAD listening was the company's C272 amplifier.

Though I still own a 3020 integrated from years ago and have tried several other NAD products, I had never auditioned one of its amplifiers. Well, nice to meet you, C272.

The 150-watt stereo amplifier, at $699, gives heavyweight amplifiers a real scare with its power, authority and smoothness. This 31-pounder - often sold with the companion preamplifier, the $599 C162 - did bump-and-grind deep bass better than a 250-watt $4,000 amplifier I heard recently.

And in its restraint, the C272 forgoes the harsh, fatiguing highs characteristic of so many amplifiers. It's missing primarily the precision imaging - where the listener can distinctly define each musician or vocalist in the three-dimensional soundscape - of the very best amplifiers.

It also has two useful features: a sleep/wake setting that automatically turns on the C272 when it senses a signal and a variable input that allows volume adjustment to better match other components in your system.

This is an absolute best buy for anyone who needs some serious two-channel power.