speakers for NAD 320BEE

Hey Sammy,

My best bet would be the quads 11L. I havnt listened to it... but heard a lot about it man... its pricey a bit.

Dear Sammy,

Well the quad 11L is a very fine pair.
One of the best in its class, but to me an overkill for the Nad 320bee.
You would need a better amp for these, atleast the c352.
For the 320bee, you could try the Monitor audio bronze 2
or the Mission M32.
On the diamond 9.1, i think the salesman was pullin a fast on you.
You dont need a better amplifier than the nad 320bee for the 9.1's.
The 9.1 with the 320bee is a fine combination.

Regards
Jay

Dear Sammy
Do the following choices
1)Monitor Audio Bronze B2
2)PSB Image B15 or B25
3)Quad 11l
4)Castle Richmond
5)Dali Evidence 3
One of the best combinations is the 320BEE and MA Bronze 2, and it is the most verstile in all types of music playback.
However if your diet is lighter classical and jazz the Castle is simply amazing.
Regards Deaf

Thanks for the suggestions.
When I look at the specifications of NAD 352 (and the reviews) I am tempted! Which speakers would pair with it best?

Dear Sammy
With the 352 the same choices remain essentially the same but allows floorstanders to enter the game.
1)PSB Image 45T
2)Castle Pembroke
3)Dali Evidence 470

The MA floorstander I am not too sure of,with the 352, and the
Quad 22L needs a amplifier several times its cost to perform at its best.
Regards Deaf

so i can still opt for wharfedale diamond 9.1 with NAD 352? The guy in the shop (as i had mentioned earlier) felt that even 320bee wasnt a match for 9.1 and hence i was wondering whether i can pair it with 352 which is in the next league!

Dear Sammy
I have several bookshelf and floorstanding speakers with me.
The 352 drives 80% of them without a hassle.So go ahead with the diamond 9.1 fearlessly,just experiment with cable choices to get the right tone for yourself.
Regards Deaf

I would suggest you choose the speakers and then the Amp.. unless you go in for a tough to drive speaker (None of you choices fall into that), all the others can be driven well by a 320BEE equally well.

Would also suggest you put the extra budget into a speaker than the Amp since the difference in sound would be more obvious for the same amount of money..

I agree with Deaf on the MA Bronze. a very good Rock speaker.
For Vocals both the Quad and the Castle are good, the castle though struggles with very fast music.

HI!
The match of the B2 with the 320bee is very good and VFM. The B2's really rock. However before you go ahead and put ur money down, do try and get to hear the speakers mentioned by Deaf with either of the NAD amps.

Rgds

Prithvi

hello again,

If you are considering the Nad c352, then try the Monitor Audio B4 floorstander.
The two together perform well.

will the nad 352 pair up well with wharfedale diamond 9.1 and monitor b2?

deaf schrieb:

Dear Sammy ...just experiment with cable choices to get the right tone for yourself... Regards Deaf

Forget the cables for now. there is a lot more you can experiment with.
don't go spending ludicrous amounts on cables. keep aside a couple of hundred bucks for the speaker cables and a maximum of 300-400 for the interconnects...when you are satisfied that the rest of the system is in place and still you feel it will make YOU feel good to have expensive cables..then i suggest you borrow and eperiment....personally its a load of crap..
30k for a power cord(came across one!)!!jeez!

sammygeorge schrieb:

will the nad 352 pair up well with wharfedale diamond 9.1 and monitor b2?

Dear Sammy
Clearly the B2 rocks.I have a friend who rates the 320EE+B2+542 CD player as one of the best setups, as far as emotional communication goes.He prefers entry level kimber cables in this setup,and though they are not my favourite cable brand,I have to concede the system kicked serious butt.Storming dynamics.Go get it.
Regards Deaf

Hi sammygeorge,

have you listened to the Mordaunt-Short Avant series in combination with the 320BEE?

Regards,

V.

Another really Value for Money speaker is the Infinity Primus 160. a very surprising package for its price. Not sure if it has a dealer in India..but you should find out. usually JBL dealers also have this

Someone i know in another forum prefers it over his 5 times more expensive JM Labs ! (Also got a very good Stereophile review)

Regarding Mordaunt Short- Was once a very good british company but their products are not really in the competition these days.

although heard that their new products for this year are completely revamped and re designed.

Arj schrieb:

Another really Value for Money speaker is the Infinity Primus 160. a very surprising package for its price. Not sure if it has a dealer in India..but you should find out. usually JBL dealers also have this Someone i know in another forum prefers it over his 5 times more expensive JM Labs ! (Also got a very good Stereophile review) Regarding Mordaunt Short- Was once a very good british company but their products are not really in the competition these days. although heard that their new products for this year are completely revamped and re designed.

Yeah Arj has hit the nail on the head.That Infinity has a frequency response like a ruler.Haven't heard it though.The review is amazing for a product in that price bracket.The other speaker that measures like that is the PSB 25B.Infinity may be available with the JBL dudes like Arj says,and PSB is available with LaKozy I think.
Regards Deaf

30k for a power cord(came across one!)!!jeez!

[Ben wrote]

-----------------------------------------------------------

Was this 30K Indian Rs. or ???

http://fatwyre.com/FATWYRE/FATWYRE/fatwyre/power9_05.html

There is some one in Pune, I had visited 1 month back that uses the Siltech Ruby Mountain Signature G-6 Power Cords in his set up. These are only the power cables I am talking about. The Speaker Cables have a US $ list of 32,000/- US $'s They are the Emperor Signature G-6.

http://fatwyre.com/FATWYRE/FATWYRE/fatwyre/speaker9_05.html

Has 08 of them @ 7,800/- US $'s for a 6' pair. Maybe he can 'hear' the difference between Rs. 300/- p.m. cables @ 3,900/- US $'s p.m. cables.

Just a reaction to what I read.

BHAGWAN69

P.S. Someone on our Forum too uses the same cables - Junia - I think. Well at least that is what is mentioned by him. Dynaudio Master Evidence + Siltech + Plinius etc.

Hi Sammygeorge,

I use a 320 bee myself with a diy speaker. I used a 6 1/2 " vifa woofer and 1" Vifa tweeter. They sound miles ahead of some of the speakers that I have heard in the 20-30K range. Till a couple of weeks back, i used to wonder if they could ever faithfully reproduce instruments like a drum, violin, trumpet. Frankly, the NAD was far better than my avr Yamaha rxv350 and i was perfectly happy but then i chanced upon a second hand Marantz pm63 and used it to drive these speakers and they sounded amazing. Suddenly the nad c320 sound lifeless and boring. Forinstance the drum beat in the Nad was quick and had no body. With the Marantz, the drum sound so beautiful. It was surreal, it sounded as if somebody was playing it right there. Its hard to describe this but the drum beat seemed to take over the room (not the bass part) with the Marantz unlike the nad which seemed to play and then stop the diaphragm from vibrating.

Anyway the point is that I got the nad for 20K and the Marantz for 5K and now wonder why i spent 20K on the NAD ;-)

Also I would suggest you listen to the in-house brand of Acoustic portrait(I have yet to hear then myself). They use Vifa drivers and i feel they are much better than some of the drivers of the famous brands.

Ronnie22 schrieb:

Hi Sammygeorge, Also I would suggest you listen to the in-house brand of Acoustic portrait(I have yet to hear then myself). They use Vifa drivers and i feel they are much better than some of the drivers of the famous brands.

I strongly second Ronnie22. APs would definitely beat many in the run by MILES.
Also regarding Marantz....I have to say that NAD320bee is more sterile so to say mechanical sounding while Marantz are very natural sounding and it would almost get you there, close to the instrument. I think you just need a listen to realize the difference.

Also dont go about spending hefty amount behind amps because you would hardly notice any difference unless there is a definite requirement by the speaker. All the speakers discussed in this thread can be driven equally well by NAD320bee, 352 and Marantz PM4400 etc..if you have to improve upon sound then go to the next level of speakers, you would get that extra bang for buck.

Amp-Speaker synergy is something you find out only by trial and error ! something like a perfect mate especialy in case of DIY stuff.

but if you find that it makes some wonderful music. thats why an active speaker would sound so good since the amp is designed for the speaker than a trial and error based coupling

Usually most of the older amps would give the newer ones a good run (Also tru in case of some CDPs). While percolating technology has improved componets, cost of materials has also forced manufacturers to use more cost effective components and hence high quality parts replaced by cheaper and not so high quality.

Typical example in case of CDPs is a Phillips Transport which was used in some mid level CDs is not used at all due to its cost !

In the end it comes to personal preferences. An Audiophile I had been interacting with still swears by his NAD3020 (with upgraded Caps/pSU) and runs a pair of Dynaudios with them !

Hi Sammy,

I am using the NAD C352 with Quad 21L and Marantz SA-8260. The Quads are absolutely transparent and resolving. The NAD does a great job driving them. Just replace the stock power cord with a better brand. I have used Signal Cable's power cord and the result is - stable imaging, better bass weight and increased resolution. Let me know if you want more information

Milpai

[quote="sammygeorge"]Been scouting for suitable speakers for NAD 320BEE and had almost decided in favour of Wharfedale Diamond 9.1. But the salesperson cautioned me that it is not an appropriate combination. Is that true?? If so could the members suggest a suitable alternative?
The salesman was also pitching in for NAD 352 (in preference to 320BEE). I also read excellent reviews of this particular model in the net. Do members have any experience with this amp? And which speakers go best with this one?
Thanks[/quote]
[quote]
Iam using a Acoustic Potrait bookshelf with NAD320BEE and the sound delights me !

NAD320BEE and AP Bookshelfs:
Recently changed CD Player from a entry level Philips to CA Azur640C.The overall soundstage and tonality went up greatly. Also switched over to Acoustic Portrait PR1's.
PR1's are in my opinion the best bang for the buck in its category .I did audition Boston Acoustics,Klipsch and other's in Chennai and Whaf's in Bangalore.NAD302BEE sounded very balanced with the PR1's.Simply put - i liked the sound.