Because it''s on the warm side of things the C350 works extremely well with a "peppy" CD player like the C521 and the Ecosse stuff (very detailed). I have a floating laminate floor - am hoping Vibrapods underneath speakers and components will clear up bass muddle.

Bass not that strong and fairly muddy. Mid and high excellent. Knowing the C350 is reasonably powerful and the Wharfedales are easy to drive, I believe much of the problem is due to the C521 source and the floor situation.

System equals: NAD C521 CD player NAD C350 integrated amp Wharfedale Diamond 8.3 speakers Ecosse 4.2 biwire cable Ecosse Composer interconnect -and a hefty stand A very long burn-in time (as in three weeks of continuous play) was required before everything settled in, especially the Ecosse interconnect and cables. The resulting sound is very satisfactory for a low-end hi-fi system costing approx. CDN $1,600 in total. Vocals such as Mabel Mercer or Ella Fitgerald Cole Porter songbook are excellent - crisp, right there as if the singer is sitting on a stool 12 feet in front of you. Details such breathing and enunciation are perfect. Well recorded pop like Beth Orton Central Reservation shows incredible vocal reproduction, soundstage and depth. Poorly recorded pop/rock like Velvet Underground and Nico sounds like the recording disaster it is. Instrumental such as classical piano and chamber music (Glenn Gould Goldberg variations second recording, Marta Argrerich Liszt piano sonata in Bminor, Pinnock''s Archiv Produktion Brandenburg concertos) is incredible for such a low cost system. Detail, attack, and soundstaging all can be compared to good mid-range components like Myryad. In the Pinnock recordings the voice of individual instruments is clearly heard and positioned within soundstage. Detail extends to hearing the "breath" of the woodwinds. Complex, rapid tempii passaged are clearly heard with no muddling of the music. That''s the good part. Where the system is weak is in the bass and in large-scale orchestral works. There''s plenty of bass but''s it''s muddy and not all that powerful. Mass-loading the Wharfedale''s really helped clear things-up, but it''s still not great. In the Pinnock and piano recordings noted above for example, the low octaves on the piano don''t thunder at you in the Liszt, and the big strings do not have the presence they should. The Wharfedales are capable of delivering amazing bass for the price - I know having heard them hooked up to a Myryad CD player and bi-amp set-up. This set-up, with a less than run-in pair of Diamond 8.3s still kicked bass that was amazing. The kick drum in Sonic Youth "Dirty" was actually kicking me in the gut, while the bass clarity and detail were miles beyond the NAD C521, NAD C350 combo I have. That''s reasonable to expect considering the price differential.

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Given Toronto prices and discounts, I''d say the C350 is an exceptional buy (and suitable for serious listening). The C521 is an even better buy, and fantastic for an introduction to real hi-fi, but i

Clear Treble, Warm sounding amp, very good stereo imaging, tight and punchy (but not muddy) bass.

Lack of inbuilt phone pre-amp

I don''t normally feel motivated to publish my opinions on equipment but this amp really "Rocks". I recently changed from a Sony amp which sounded very bright and lacking in bass to the 350. Wow what a difference. This amp reminds me of my first stereo system in the early to mid 70''s. It has a fantastic sound, clear treble and good tight bass. It handles Rock music and Classical with equal ease and clarity and the stereo imaging is really precise. I have the amp connected to a pair of B&W DM303''s connected with QED Silver Anniversary cable. What more can I say apart from buy this great sounding amp superb value for money.

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Sony and Kenwood amps.

A Monster from another planet. It is so good that it makes you scared. Best description would probably be ''Everything sound just so right.'' And that massive power will knock you off. A real stunner. Would be good with most systems if not all. Nothing much else to say. Oooooooooooohhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! >.<

Quality internal parts Flexible and compliments many brands Good highs, great mids, good lows. It earned it''s 5 stars honestly

Doesn''t digest loud electric guitar and drums

System: NAD C350 (obviously) NAD C523 5-disc carousel or Sony DVD 570 KEF Q35.2 or B&W 303 speakers Acoustic Research interconnects I''ve had no reliability problems whatsoever. The amps'' sound, to me, isn''t too warm or too bright. It is a good balance between both. I''ve had a chance to test it with much equipment and the amp was never the weak link in any case. I''ve plugged many other amps into my system and I''ve only noticed an improvement as I got to my friend''s 3000$ moon amp. If 60(more like 85)Watts is enough, and you don''t need 2 speaker pair outlets, it is a great choice. I''d probably match it with a CD source at three times the price (around 1600$) before thinking of upgrading the amp. I''ve caught the audio bug of always wanting better. I''m now shopping and analyzing the market for a CD source that will do this amp justice. The NAD 523 isn''tat all up to par. I listen to all music, but mostly techno, 80''s pop, classical and jazz and am very satisfied with the highs and lows. The system doesn''t seem to like hard rock and metal though - metallica sounded so-so on it. I think it lacks dynamism - meaning the amp doesn''t store enough energy to give many quick intense spurts of it the the speakers- making it sound slow with lowd hard music. But that is a minor quibble. Harry Connick Jr., Depeche Mode and Andreas Bocelli sound great on the amp. I wish you good luck in your hunt for

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From Technics to Conrad Johnson (loaned by gracious friend with more bucks than I)

Detail, depth, bass, hair raisingly good

A little cold, but it has not broken in yet, only had it a day. Maybe a little too powerful. We live in a small house and it is very loud even with the volume right down. Just gonna have to annoy the neighbours!

What can I say about this amp that hasn''t already been said - it rocks, beautifully. We listened to a number of other amps from Arcam and Cambridge Audio, and I''ve listened to amps from Marantz before but the NAD is in a different league. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on female vocals (Lorena McKennit) and dance (Carl Cox)is awesome, there is just so much detail and power to the music. Build wise, I think it looks OK, but on closer inspection it is a big dark cloud (horrible external quality), but it has the most awesome silver lining (it sounds wonderful.) The only thing I wanted to say was, buying hifi is like buying cars. You know what you want and you know what you would like but can not afford. We started off listening to sub 200 pounds amps, but none quite did it for us. So we went up to the next price bracket. Definetly worth it. So, find what you love and if you can not afford it now, go home save a bit more and come back. You are gonna live with this stuff for 5 - 10 years so do not comprimise. Setup - Marantz CD 63mkII KI signature QED interconnect NAD C350 ;) Target stands B&W 610 speakers (old but good) QED silver anniversary cable

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Marantz PM42SE

great

great sound

none

I've had this amp for several months now. I have found no audible weekness in any area. At 60w it has more than enough power on hand for my 16x20 room. It provides detailed, tight, and deep bass. Clarity and imaging are superb. I also replaced the steel jumpers with a set of 8'' interconnects DH Labs made up. I highly reccommend this, it sweetened the sound, and took it to the next level you might say. Typical NAD very well built.

Clarity, accuracy throughout audible range, "you are there" soundstage and imaging, deep power reserves, looks funky

looks funky...not a problem. showcases wooden eared sound engineers.

although barely broken in, this is the finest sounding amp at its price (and much above, actually) that i have heard within my power requirements and financial criteria. paired with klipsch sf-2 loudspeakers, the sound is clean, warm, and powerful. highs are brilliant without being overly harsh, midrange is strong, quick, and accurate, and bass is deep and tight with awesome punch. overall neutral response with no coloration letting the music exhibit all its qualities unhindered. as i mentioned, however, poor recording efforts give less than optium results. not the fault of the equipment though. this amp and the klipsch speakers seem to have been made for each other. by the way, in my review of the sf-2's, my overall rating was erroneously missent as "three stars" when it is,in reality, a strong five.
i run the unit with flat response, tone defeat accuated, and the sound is incredible. and loud! with highly efficient speakers like the klipsch, the c-350 seems to have unlimited power, super clean, distortion free. and totally devoid of any background noise.
very solidly built with no frills, controls and remote are well arranged and easy to use, and it was a breeze to set up.

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kenwood

that guy aaron below is a complete ass. what a windbag. i am not reseller, just a guy who had the misfortune of reading your review.

power, clarity, imaging

an audible click when turned on that's it

i could not believe the open soundstage and imaging when i first heard it. i have no regrets for buying this piece, it cost me 600.00 canadian with our tax.i don't buy equipment unless it adds to my system. money well spent. also the nad web site has been very prompt at answering some of my questions thanks guy's, any questions email me
darryl
buy and sit back and enjoy

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old nad 2100 amp, denon receiver.