reliability, no soundstage, harsh upper-mids and total lack of liquidity.

This integrated amplifier is just one step above mass market Japan crap like Harmon kardon, Sony, and Yamaha. The build quality is of a definate mass market stamp. Owned this unit for approximately 2 years and it was plagued by left channel crackling before that channel totally died. Returned it to the shop 3 times before they could rectify the problem (thank goodness it was under warranty!) The overall sonic picture is typical solid state and lacks any semblance of soundstage, air or liquidity. Bass is tight and tuneful though. Go with Creek or Musical Fidelity at this price point for better value per $. Better yet - save up for seperates!
System setup:
Magnepan 1.5 QR
CAL ICON Mk II - non Powerboss
Linn speakerwire
Atlantis Wireworld interconnects

Similar Products Used:

musical fidelity, harmon kardon, long line of Sony, Kenwood, Yamaha equipment, Creek

Power, price (cheap because of the freakin' humming problem)

Said freakin' hum

Good sound, but the left channel hums. You can hear it if you put your ear about a foot away from the speaker (it doesn't get louder when you turn up the volume, though, thankfully). Bought it mail-order, so it costs an arm and a leg to ship, not to mention Canadian customs is going to charge me again, so I haven't returned it, even though the Saturday Audio guys were willing and extremely accomodating.

I'm positive that it's the pre-amp section that's causing the hum. If I remove the metal links between the preamp and the amp and replace them with an RCA cable reversed (i.e. left preamp out to right amp in, right preamp out to left amp in), the hum moves to the right speaker. That means I can hopefully eliminate the hum by getting a separate preamp, though I'm not confident that the amp will sound as good as a NAD 214 (which is what the amp section of the 317 is, essentially) because of its problems.

Very detailed, good imaging, plenty of dynamic power, low price!

One bell, one whistle......
Bass sounds a little sloppy with my speakers.

I downsized from a Hafler DH200 and DH101 setup to this integrated amp. My speakers are 1970's vintage ADS L500 two ways. The stereo image is more detailed and stable with the NAD. But, the bass doesn't seem to be as tight as my Hafler. Maybe after more break in it will improve. The amp is a bargain at the discontinued price. Mine has no hum at all as reported by others in this group. It is defintely more detailed than my ancient Dynaco integrated amp and has more headroom than a similar Creek that I auditioned.

Similar Products Used:

Dynaco, Creek.

Great warm sounding integrated amp. Remote is simple and cool.
Matches nicely with Harmon Kardon FL8550 CD player and NHT 1.5 speakers.

An excellent integrated amplifier. Have mine connected to NHT SuperTwos and Audioquest Type 4 cables. CD player is Adcom GCD700. This amp upholds NAD's tradition of being a no nonsense true deliverer. I did several auditions before buying. Comparisons were made with Adcom, Arcam, Marantz, and Creek. The 317 has the best sound in my opinion.

Actually the 317 only is my second integrated, so my experience is somewhat limited. I bought the NAD to replace my Sony F519R, which is also rated at 80 W/ch. But it clearly couldn't handle my new Elipson speakers: the sound became distorted at louder volume levels, and with "source direct" switched off, the midrange tonal balance was altered significantly.
Having said that, I must tell I'm pretty impressed with the 317's performance. It has ample power and drives my speakers with ease, producing a nice deep, rolling bass. The sound image is also much more detailed than the Sony's, and pleasant to listen to for a prolonged period of time. The tone controls are well implemented too, and don't seem to veil and colour the other frequenties like the Sony did.

So there: five stars for an excellent amplifier!

A very impressive product. After auditioning several integrated amps in the sub $500 range, I thought I was going to settle for the NAD C340 (also nice, but not as much so compared to this beast). Fortunately for me, my local dealer decided to play mind games with me, quoting me lower prices over the phone than what they were actually offering in at the store. I got pissed, told them maybe later (not!), went back home, and did some more snooping on the Web that night. After a couple of hours of looking, lo and behold, I came across a small Massachusetts-based outfit name QAudio, which had one refurb 317 in stock for $449.
Well, I leaped on that like a lion on an antelope, and I must say I'm elated I did. The unit arrived in pristine condition, it's identical to new for all the more anyone can tell. Nothing missing, nothing broken, just like new. And just like in the showroom, it sounds FANTASTIC!!! I have it mated to a pair of Paradigm Phantoms and a Sony CDP-XE500 CD player right now, and this match seems very, very sweet to me. The NAD positively obliterates the old Sony Pro-Logic receiver I had hooked up before. It handles all types of music effortlessly and with extreme style. I just love the warm sound it exudes, which seems to be typical of NAD products. Terrific bass, sharp treble, big juicy mids. Mmmmhmmm. I can crank it really loud, and the amp is still breathing really freely, like it's hardly even trying. What's more, if I upgrade to Maggies or some other speakers with high-power requirements, I can bridge my 317 to a NAD 214 power amp for a beefy 240W per channel, which is more than I'll ever need.

The Pre-amp controls, for what it's worth, are cleanly laid out, and pretty spartan in appearance, which appeals to me greatly. I like Bauhaus functionality over an abundance of garish knobs and buttons anyway. The remote could stand to be a bit smaller and more ergonomic, but it does its job, and most integrated amps in this price range don't even have remotes to begin with, so what can you say?

Overall, the NAD 317 is the perfect amp for me, and I can hardly believe I got one in my price range. Five stars hands down.

a powerful amp, great sound

no phono stage, lack of durability

I have to admit my experience with NAD has not been very good, although I cannot find any faults with the sound. It has good sound stage wide open sound and lots of power the bass is tight but not overwhelming like most British designed units.
My first 317 had a terrible humming noise, I replaced it the 2nd week I got it, the second broke down twice as the fuse blew it let too much AC into the unit which damaged 3 resistors and capacitors into the output stage. The same unit broke down (humming into the left channel) the day after the warranty expired.
The manager of the store agreed to replace the old unit with a C370 I hope to have better luck with this unit. I don’t know what’s wrong with this company i.e. the manufacture great sound sounding amplifiers but can’t seem to fix their Quality Control.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam Alpha 7, and PSB Bronse speakers

Good control and very much power in bridgemode. Very good sound too and very cheap.

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Good value for the money. Powerful and bridgeable to 2*240 W
in 8 ohm with nad 214.

Warm and capable of providing great detail way down in the recordings.

I've had a slight hum in the left channel for most of the two years of ownership but NAD tells me not to worry about it.

A great sounding integrated amp with a remote. Plenty of punch for the average size room and a pleasure to listen to. Never tiring or harsh. I hear things in recordings I never knew were there before. Simple and true to the concept of presenting music before hype and numbers. In this price range is's a real buy.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom, Marantz, Conrad Johnson,