I just purchased an NAD C340 from Sound City ($316, shipped - thanks for the tip, TAT!). It is a great amp for the price - clean, clear, good power (wattage and current) delivery, versatile (preamp and amp sections can be disconnected), and has a good headphone socket (driven off the main amp, as oppossed to a cheap op amp, like on most inexpensive integrateds/receivers). And like others have written here, its power output seems more than the sum of its parts - plenty of slam, bass extension, and ability to drive speakers to quite loud levels. Hmmmmmm ..... With sound quality this good from an inexpensive NAD integrated amp, I'm not sure that I could justify spending boocoo $$$$$$ on high end seperates .... and I'm not sure that I would want to, even if money wasn't an issue!!!! (And yes, in the past, I HAVE owned high end seperates - Audio Research LS3 preamp, Parasound HCA 2200II amp, PSB Stratus Gold speakers, et al). The bottom line - try this amp with a pair of good quality bookshelf speakers - you'll be surprised what this lil' NAD can do!!!!!!!!

Musical timing very coherent!!!

Build quality and finishing

Very nice peice of equipment from Nad. This amplifier has done much in my mind to re-cement Nad's reputation as budget audophile kit. It's musical timing is what I noticed first. This Amp really presents the musical image in such a way as to invole the listener and it gets your toes tapping right away. Plently of power to drive my Dyanaudio audience 50's. It can at times produce a rather "sharp" high end but it's musical timing far out ways this minor flaw. Esp. at its price point, under $400. I have a Nad 522 Cd player which works well in my setup. I also use an old, 1963, Scott 340-b
tube stereo reciver for my FM tuner and phone stage since the 340-C has no phono stage. If your in the market for an integrated amplifier in the $300-$800 price range check this one out it is simply amazing what you get for so little. I will keep this one forever!

Similar Products Used:

Rotel RA-980b

First of all, i see that this NAD has been given very high rate from other rewiewers. I find it hard to give any product a "5" in rating before i heard all the competition in that pricerange. Since that is almost inpossible, it must also mean that a "5" in rating is pretty high under the circumstances.. BUT it´is a very good amp. As some rewiewers wrote, it´s the bass that impresses the most. It´s always very clean and rhytmic ( maybe there is a typical english sound, like the Linn...) but not allways the "thumpiest", if you but it that way... If you want more bass,you have to turn the volume higher. But my Cerwin vegas is very sensitive. Maybe too sensitive to get the best out of this amp. It really comes to it´s best when you push it little bit, it´s not so good at lower volumes.With music like Swedish Antiloop (techno) that is recorded with high soundquality it´s very enjoyable. I´m also very impressed by that presence in the sound that this amp delivers, particulary with voices. Listen to Sarah Brightmans "Tu" from "eden" and its almost frightenly good, it´s almost as Sarah was performing in your room. The same thing happens with Enya and
"marble halls" although its not so high soundquality as Brigtman. Listen to Eric Clapton with "river of tears": Shiver down the backbone..
But the downside? Well, it ceartainly present everything on the record. and it´s not always so funny with some newer records that seem to be mixed for radio. It enhances some of the bass, like Chumbawambas "tubthumping" wich makes it hard to listen at high volumes without beeing to agressive. But to be honest, you can not blame the amp, beacause some of todays music seem very awkward recorded.. But i love it with the drive it present when you listen to John Fogerty or Tom Petty, but Cardigans, No Doubt and some rock/pop can bee tiring. You can´t say anything bad about the equipment of this NAD, it´s good for the money, although i miss the phono...
But feed it with wellrecorded music and you gonna love it.
I do...

No problems driving any kinds of speakers; neutral presentation; very musical; virtually grain-free

Little humming noise when turning up the volume know using the remote; I personally think it looks ugly

I have been listening to my sytem extensively (everyday for almost two months) and have made comparisons. Hence, I feel competent to make a review. If I find anything change then I will update the review in the future. But I think my opinions have already been formed and are enough to help potential auditioners of this product.

I confess I bought the NAD mainly based on the great reviews it received from this site and from different audio magazines. So there wasn't much of an audition to begin with.

I have tried the NAD with Energy eXL16 speakers, B&W 601s and 602s, and my own speakers, the Dyns. The common bond they all share is the neutrality of the sound. No frequencies dominate the other frequencies.

In comparison with the Rotel RA-935BX Mk II, the NAD easily beat it. The Rotel was a little grainy and sibilant (thus not as neutral as the NAD). The Rotel's 40-watt rating seemed to be much much smaller than NAD's 50-watt rating when driving speakers. I heard that the NADs are always conservatively rated anyway. The NAD was virtually grain free.

The only little problem I had was a little sound from the knob whenever I try to turn the volume up using the remote. I can only hope this won't lead to reliability problems in the future.

I purchased the NAD C340 in Audio Visual Drivers Internationational in Shangri-la Mall, Mandaluyong, Philippines for PhP 17,800 (roughly $450).

My system consists of:

Loudspeakers - Dynaudio Audience 40 (bookshelf, SRP $700)
CD Player - Rotel RCD-971 (HDCD capable, SRP $700)
Int. Amp - NAD C340 (50-watts, SRP $399)

My tastes in music are pop/rock music that have real musicians and not some programmed beats. I like U2, Police, and other similar bands. I also listen to Unplugged stuff.

Jick

PS: Feel free to email me if there are any queries or clarifications about this review or about any component in my system.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel RA-935BX Mk II (40-watt Integrated Amplifier)

Clean sound, plenty of power, grain free, plenty of inputs, pre-out, main-in sockets.

Build quality, remote, no phono stage.

I Had been looking to upgrade from my RX-530 receiver for some time and wanted to get into at least the "Mid-Fi" level of seperate components. I First tried the CA A3i from Soundcity.com($299.00 delivered) mostly based on reviews here and other places on the www. Excellent amp, Looks good, serious build quality and sounded great, clean detailed sound and plenty of power to drive my efficient Klipsch KG4.2 speakers, a big upgrade from my reciever. I was very happy with the sound that amp produces and would have kept it (it had the phono stage I wanted too) but it didn't have enough inputs and I also wanted the flexibility of being able to seperate the pre and amp sections. I had read many very good reviews on the C340 here and in Stereophile and Audio magazines. Ordered it also from SC for $10 more ($309) and tried them both for about 2 weeks. As far as sound quality was concerned it was a toss up. The NAD seemed a little brighter in the top end and the bass is very tight and deep, overall the NAD seemed a bit more dynamic. I also purchased a NAD 515 CD changer and I absolutly love the way it sounds with the C340. It sounded great with the CA also. My musical tasts are very broad and everything I've thrown at this amp sounds great.

For the money you CANNOT go wrong with either of these amps. I did have one problem with the C340, It got stuck in mute mode, first intermittently, then permanently. Took it a local authorized dealer for warranty repair. Everything has been fine since. Another consideration on NAD vs CA is that there are many more authorized dealers and service available in the US for NAD. Although the way the CA is built you may not have to worry too much.

If you are looking to ease into HI-Fi seperates without spending a large chunk of cash and get great sound, and flexibility (ability to seperate the amp and preamp sections for future ugrades) the C340 is a can't miss.

Current system:
NAD C340 AMP
NAD 515 CD Changer
Audioquest jade interconnects
NAD PP-1 Phono Preamp
Scott PS 49A turntable.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Audio A3i, Yamaha RX-530, HK AVR-40

Good in most area. Nice from low to high.
Most importantly.... it is very very musical

No. (The ugly remote bother me a bit, but not significant)

I usually like the concept of a rather 'small and simple' system.
I matched the C340 with the NAD's own C540 CD player to drive the almost 2-decade old AR20B bookshelf speakers.

Hardly believe, the speakers sound far much different than what I have heard all these years. The sound was clean and very very musical. (I will say this over and over as I feel it is the most significant and outstanding asset of this little amp.)

Never before I heard the texture of male and female voice that delicate. It touches your heart.

I now listen to music collection every day.
I never enjoy it as such.

I am now getting excited to find a newer better speakers to match it. Wonder how far the system can go. How much more superior it could be.
I will let you people know later after they get broken in futher, and may be paired with a good speakers.

Any recommendation?
===============
system component
CD Player - NADC540
Int. Amp. - NAD C340
Interconnector: AudioQuest Topaz, Van Den Hul: The source - hybrid
Speakers: Acoustic Research 20B (Connoissuer Series)
Speaker Cable: Kimble (not sure which model it is)

Similar Products Used:

NAD 2400THX

It can handle with all kinds of the music, especially for
vocal and string.

The power can't be controlled remotely.

I think this model is probably the best at the price( I bought an used one at $275, usually the retail price is
$399. ) Combined with my KEF Q15, it sounds great.

Nice tone, minimalist design, good midrange and bass( for its price), power more than the stated 50W

remote-not very useful!!

since this is my first foray into the world of "high-end" audio..well..the lower bottom of high end anyway...ive decided to go with NAD since ive heard so many good reviews about them.
i must say that i was impressed with the overall quality of this amp. one minor complaint: the remote!!i mean, no on/off capability??but thats a minor complaint anyway.
ive combined my C340 with Mission 702E floorstanders and they sound awesome!!

all in all...a good entry level system...

Similar Products Used:

none

Excellent sound for the price

None in this category

Great sound!!!
Absolutely ZERO competition at the price.
Bass is great.
Midrange is tonally correct. (equal to my Musical Fidelity A2)VERY NICE!!
Highs can be harsh, but I think this is due to the NAD's transparency rarely found at this price. I HIGHLY recommend replacing the cheap jumpers with Pure Silver Sound Jumpers or even the Kimber PBJ (both gave me positive results in taming the tizzy highs that I think can be partially attributed to the stock jumpers also).
AS always system matching is important, but I think that few people buying this amp will have trouble. The only amp that I think is significantly better and may be worth spending a LOT more money for is the Bryston B-60. However, the NAD can really hold its own even in the company of the high-end stuff.
I am very satisfied with my purchase, especially after going thru soo many amps and trying desperately to find an amp in my price range that satisfies my many musical tastes. I was close to getting the Bryston, but when I heard the NAD I knew it'd be a better buy for my budget. I'd be paying for the Bryston for months. Maybe when I get done with college and can offord the REAL nice stuff I'll get a Bryston B-60 or separates....maybe.

Here's my set-up

Paradigm Studio 20 v2s with the reference stands (see my review. The tweeters in these speakers are soo much better than the Monitor Line. I found the Monitor's titanium tweeters VERY harsh especially when paired with good fairly transparent equipment)
Kimber 4TC
Kimber Silver Streak Interconnects
Kimber Digital X
MSB LINK DAC (this is a must own piece!)
NAD 514 CD player/transport
Target Audio sand-filled rack

Numerous tweaks- line conditioner etc.

5 for value definitely
3 1/2 overall, but I'll round up to 4 because I am very pleased with NAD as well as the other companies mentioned above who's products I'm using for making such a high quality, music first, products at affordable prices.

Happy Listening

Similar Products Used:

Musical Fidelity A2 and X-A1, Bryston B-60, Parasound separates, Adcom Separates, numerous receivers etc.

Clear and detalied sound

Lack of Bass, (May be my speakers fault though)

I should begin with saying that I'm an absolute amateur in the hifi world, so maybe I dunno what I'm talking about at all... ;)

I purchased this amp based on the reviews here and on other sites. Though I must say that I'm not THAT impressed.

The deep bass and the dynamic sound is missing on low listening levels. I have the B&W 602 S2 speakers and thought that was the weak part in the system for a while.
However, When I connected my Grado SR125 headphones (Known to deliver good base) the result was slightly better. Though is was not that good at all. The intresting part is that my portable MD deliver more bass then the amp does...?!
I dunno if something is wrong with my amp or if it's just doesn't get any better.

However, I'm not totally unsatisified with the amp since the price was good and the sound is clear and detailed.
It sounds good but it is absolutely not fantastic.
I've run this amp with my speakers for a month now and have always told myself that the sound may get better. However I don't think it will get any better than this. It just feels that something is missing.. As I said, It might be the speakers or the placement in the room.

I think the amp is a good choice if you're short on cash and are living in a small apartment. However, don't expect any miracles from it. And perhaps you cannot do so for 250$...