First views on Nad 320BEE

I do have a doubt, since I dont see any capacitance measurements of the cable.

your cable is 11awg....what you are syaing is you use one red twisted pair for +ve, one gray twisted pair for the
-ve. Am I right ?


Manek.

that's right.

ok....now you better write to nad hope your output stage is not oscillating due to high capacitance of speaker cables(have red about this phenomenon but haven't experienced it myself). Would you have any friends who could lend you a spare pair of speaker cables ?

manek.

well, that's the baffling thing. u see i swithced the speaker cables from the receiver(what was supplied by the wharfedale dealer) to the Nad. it was the same result today morning.
i will write to Nad later today.
Ben

also try posting your probles on audioasylum.com in the Amp section..you might get some answers by tomorrow morning

hey arj,
just posted the problem on the site. also sent a query to nad(usa). actually had a hard time locating a support mail id. i ended up sending to nad aamerica(dealer).
will , wait and see.
thanks for all the help guys.
Ben

p.s: Pritvi how are the D15s coming along.

ben,
getting better, sadly no more sa-102 plinius, feels like someone pulled the earth under my feet, dont feel like switching other amps at all except the linn/aragon.

go to sp road and buy a comp fan for rs 500. keep it on top of ur amp with rubber gormets.

rgds
prithvi

this is one of the replies i got at audioasylum.com. can u guys verify if this staement is true.
"Switch off until cool. Switch on with speakers disconnected. If it still gets hot there is a fault"
thanks
ben

go to sp road and buy a comp fan for rs 500. keep it on top of ur amp with rubber gormets.

thanks Prithvi,
i'll do this as the last resort.
have been running the amp for abt an hour with the volume knob at around the 10 o'clock position with the speakers disconnected.
the amp is now just warm and only on the rightmost 2 strips of vents(not the power supply side). so what does this say?
will run it for another hour or so and then let it cool off and then connect the speakers and run it run around one and a half hours.
hey big ears,
have put the query in Nad help center.
will await their reply before coming to any conclusions.
if u have any thoughts on this ,feel free to let me know.
thanks
Ben

Hi Benks,

Elimination process.

Try using another pair of speakers with same cable to see if it heats up again.

Then try again with a different cable.

I shall speak to the dealer here, to see if he can shed some light on the matter.

try that,it is a very suggestion.
if is is getting hot with No load there is a problem with the amp
else it is due to the speakers..

benkenobi schrieb:

this is one of the replies i got at audioasylum.com. can u guys verify if this staement is true. "Switch off until cool. Switch on with speakers disconnected. If it still gets hot there is a fault" thanks ben

Arj,

Benks says it only gets warm without the speakers connected, which to me seems normal.

Oh..as mentioned by big-ears ( i presume your kid is a Noddy Fan !) if it is Warm it is good, ie u are able to touch it . Most electronics get to optimal performance only at a certain steady state temp

If it is hot, you have a problem.

hey guys,
had it running for two hours(most i have run so far) and it is just warm maybe around 40-42 degrees at most.
that too it is warm on the last two strips(mostly on the last strip) on the right side vents(the ones next to the bass and treble controls).
so what does that indicate?
will run the amp with the speakers connected after the amp cools down and let u know again.
Ben

hey big ears,
can u ask ur man at hifi city to check and see if all the amps that he has heat up also.
thanks
Ben

You dont have to wait for it to cool off if it is warm.

Shut the amp down, connect the speakers and play.....one more question....does the amp get hotter as time goes by or does the amp achieve its hot operating state with the temp remaining constant over time ?

Manek

well, have been running it for an our now the temp i recoerded was 42.8 deg C.
what is the maximum acceptable temp for the Nad?
will run for another hour and check in.

does the amp get hotter as time goes by or does the amp achieve its hot operating state with the temp remaining constant over time ?

Ben

by running your amp now, you mean you are playing music on it right ?

Running temperature of the amp will depend on the environmental conditions in the room. Obviously hotter places will make the amp run hotter relying on heat sinks/metal body to dissipate heat.

manek.

gwnwrally what temp do u figure ur amp is running at say after 2 or more hours of playback.
yes that's right i have it 'running' as i write this(AC/DC stiff upper lip).
thanks,
Ben

all this talk abt the temp has made me overlook and has made me forget to comment on the amps pewrformance .
i have really eveloped the taste for the amp now.
its by far the most detailed amp i have heard in this price range(that include the denon, yamaha and even the rotel (1080 i think)which was 50k at the Wharfedale showroom. the bass is really tight and complements my wharfies which play really low and deep. the vocals have really opened up(they seemed somewhat restricted, like someone had shackled it in the Yamaha RX-V450).
the highs are totally out of this world.
at listening levels it clearly surpasses the KEF Coda 90 which i heard in Profx.
imagine what this is potential of when the speakers are placed properly,with a CDp and original CDs and not MP3s converted to audio CDs by my coputer.

all in all, u can't go wrong with this amp. especially for the price i paid(less than 10k).
Ben

internal temps could be around 50 degrees depending on the load and environment...thats normal.

Your manual would mention something about operating temperatures, wouldnt it ?

Manek.

no. no operating temp mention.
however in the trouble shooting section it says that the power LED would turn red if the amp is overheated and its almost 2 hours now and no such indications.
i checked the temp by placing the thermo above on top of the vents.
the temp is also not uniform.
anyway i don't think its any problem now.
will run it for 3-4hours continuosly now and keep an eye on it.
the amp can easily drive my wharfies as the knob is in 9 o'clock position and the sound is now in my normal listening levels.
the bass, whew!! its really improved.
Ben

benks...

your power/protection led is green or has it turned red during playback ?

manek.

its green.

just past two hours now.
the temp has stabilizd. it feels the same as it was a half hour ago.
still warm.
maybe around 45 max 46 degrees C.
i just can't seem to stop myself from praising this amp.
the deatil is just stunning.
my yamaha as big eas righly said is laid back and nowhere close to the Nad in the highs.
however,
i have been running them using the old speaker cables. will check to see how the new wasatch speaker cable affects the amp and sound tomorrow.
for now they will do duty with my receiver.
thanks agian guys.
maybe i jumped the gun too early.
will give an update in another hour or so on how the amp is doing.
Ben

benks,

so what you are saying is that the nad is running warm with the older speaker cables ? and runs hot/hotter with the new speaker cables ? If so your new cables have a very high capacitance. Not good for your amp.

MAnek.

hi manek,
the Nad's been running for over 3 and a half hours(stil Playing'Red hot Chilli peppers) and it is more or less at the same temp. it is still warm after one hour of indian classical and more than two hours of hard rock. the light is still green. it is warm particularly in the middle.
guess i was worrying for no reason.

so what you are saying is that the nad is running warm with the older speaker cables ? and runs hot/hotter with the new speaker cables ? If so your new cables have a very high capacitance. Not good for your amp.

well, actually i'll have to test this tomorrow to be sure.
if that is the case then i'll switch the cables between the Nad and the Yamaha receiver.
thanks for all the help guys.
Ben
p.s: prithvi, give us a buzz when the proacs are ready

hey guys,
the Nad is still running.
but for around 15 minutes i turned the volume up(between 11 o clock and 12 o clock position) and the amp is much hotter. though not in the burning area. but, surely if i hold my finger for more than 20 seconds or so it'll start paining.
what should i do?
it has been running for almost 4 and a half hours continously.
Ben

checking temp as well as enjoying good music with a nice stuff you see thats what Iove to do.......

hey sub boss,
tell me abt it.
listening to country(Don Williams) as i spoke to Prithvi on the phone.
well, i just shut the system off now.(5 hours 15 minutes of continuous playback)
i'm not going to bring this matter up for another two hours as i'm going to do Prithvi's test and besides as Prithvi told me "if the amp is running fine then don't worry".
well, no questions or doubts about the sound quality and no dearth of power. so there ,nuff said.
i'll check in with u guys at around 7.30PM(should be enough time for me to run Prithvi's test).
see ya
Ben

Nads run slightly hot after half an hour of running at medium to high volume levels.It is normal.Your diamond 8.4's are 86db and slightly difficult to drive but the NAD will manage just fine. I run my 8.4's with the NAD C 350 I picked up from prithvi. It runs hotter because of the class A pre-amp section but I never had any problem with the AMP.I have run it straight 6 hours..

well, the verdict is in.
there is NO problem with the amp. did pritvhi's test for over two hours.
its just me getting all whacko over nothing. anyway thanks for everything guys.
yo squarewave, how's the 350 and 8.4 combo?
i now agree with u that the nad does run hot when blasted but no problem as it runs in the safe operating area.
r u too using murthy's jumper cables ?
BTW is the diamond 8.4 sand fillable?
thanks
Ben

benks....you also have a protection circuit in the nad 320bee which will kick in if it gets overheated. The power led will turn red.

Playing louder will make the amp run hotter, if your speakers sensitivity is 86db then its dishing out quite a lot of power when played loud.

Make sure you keep the top and bottom vents open all the time.

manek.

Hey Ben,
The diamonds are not sand fillable. The cabinet constrution is not so good for cutting costs. The sound can defintely be improved by pasting bitumin inside of the speakers. It will need some expertise and Murthy would be right person to get in touch for this.The bass will get tighter and cleaner after this. I have not done this. A friend of mine has done this.The c350 and the wharfedales are a good match. In fact all NADS are good wtih wharfedales..:))

Some tweaks I hve done:
1.Murthy's interconnects (I love them)
2.Replace the pre-jumpers with Murthy's jumper interconnects.
3.Raise your speakers on a 40mm granite slab. Place 3 large metal cones under each (get them from murthy-this is very good tweak to get tighter and better bass and will raise the tweeter to your ear height)

thanks sqwve,
will definiteley note them down. but for now i will only go for Murthy's jumpers.

"Raise your speakers on a 40mm granite slab. Place 3 large metal cones under each (get them from murthy-this is very good tweak to get tighter and better bass and will raise the tweeter to your ear height)"
my speakers are almost to my ear level. can u give me more info on how exactly u place the cones. the cones go under the granite? and do u need 4 cm of granite.

yeah, the build quality is a let down though the diamond center is much much better in that sense.
i am still amazed every time i turn on the system by the difference the Nad has made to my system, most notably the soundstage(it has become wider, like i'm in a concert). however, i would like a bit more seperation between the instruments(maybe the jumpers would solve them).

Ben

generally not recommended to play around with the insides of the speaker cabinet as it affects the internal volume which is one of the basic parameters in speaker design..what you gain in one area , you might actually be losing something in some other area..hence be vey careful with what you do ..

With regard to wharfedales i am not really aware of specific tweaks, other than generic stuff like Mass loading, granite/wooden footers etc etc. try the net ..you should find something

But remember the most important and most ignored component is the Room itself and many a "blips" can be improved by simple stuff like curtains and cardboard boxes ! look around in the net and keep experimenting..the safest and most fun tweaks are those that do not involve upgrading and component modification !!

yep...I would not mess with the internal sof the speakers unless they were my own DIY stuff.

Chnaging the internal volume makes the mid/bass driver behave a bit differently. Your port tuning will also change.

I suggest you mass load it and put them on spikes on a granite slab.

manek.

Get two polished 5 cm thick (thicker the better) granite pieces cut slightly bigger than the base dimensions from the local granite dealer. You should get it for around 400 bucks. You can just place the speaker on top of this. Better still, if you can get three thick metal cones under each slab (placed in a triangular shape-stick them with blue tac).This will give better isolation.
Sticking bitumin won't change the dimensions much.It is not very thick. The guy who had it done was very happy with result. I don't have his mail id now or else I could have put you on to him.

Get two polished 5 cm thick (thicker the better) granite pieces cut slightly bigger than the base dimensions from the local granite dealer. You should get it for around 400 bucks. You can just place the speaker on top of this

do u remove the spikes and then mount the speakers or along with it?

Better still, if you can get three thick metal cones under each slab (placed in a triangular shape-stick them with blue tac).This will give better isolation.

do i do this and the granite thing or any one. also where do u get the solid metal cones. do u have to get a sharp eged cone( a circular pyramid if u may) or one with both sides flat with tapering sides. how much would this cost?
Ben

benks, the granite stuff worked for me too....until I mustered up the money to buy the cadence dedicated stands for the aritas and then the speakers were taken to a new level.

So granite works ! so does marble ! I used to put a layer of half inch cork under the granite layer....worked better for me than just the granite. The sandwich of cork and granite also went under my CDP and that impoved things a bit as well until I bought the lovan music rack and the granite was pinched by my mom and has been relegated to microwave oven duty in the kitchen, god knows why ? Its not as if the oven needs isolation from vibrations !

Manek.

hey Manek, will definitely give them a try. BTW how much for the rack(say it should accomodate about 5-6 standard 17inch something width units).
Ben

Hey Benk

If you are interseted in the stands contact AP...Prithvi had some solid ones for Dynaudio for 10 or 15 k.....

my rack will take 4 units, has 4 shelves.

manek.

I didn't remove the speaker spikes. So now I have double isolation. I got the thick round cones for the granite from Murthy.The speakers with the spikes go on top of them.

hey Prithvi,
have been listening for the past week with the new jumpers. to be honest i have not been able to hear a discernable difference. will check for another two days and decide on thursday. will be coming towards ur place on Thursday and will definiteley drop by and let you know.
Benks

p.s as arj suggested maybe my speakers are not revealing enough and i maybe doing little justice to the Nad by pairing it up with the Wharfies.

benks...

In my case , the jumpers did do a bit, especially with the music I listen to. The quieter passages were when I could tell the difference. A little bit of grainyness with string instruments was sorted out as well.

manek.

have been listening very cloasely for the past 45 minutes with Pink Floyd as the test cd.
there is a difference. the soundstage is more focussed(with the original jumpers i felt that there were reflections of the guitar coming from the sides!)the bass has definitely become tighter and the midbass is clean. but all this is almost barely noticable in everyday listening. but i think i will keep them.
have two more days to decide.
Benks

WOuld suggest you keep the jumpers..someday you will upgrade and in all probability it would be the speakers .. you definitely will need the jumpers then !

Arj schrieb:

WOuld suggest you keep the jumpers..someday you will upgrade and in all probability it would be the speakers .. you definitely will need the jumpers then !

that's for sure. will relegate the diamonds to a Home theater role and combine the Nad with the new ones for stereo.
Benks