Hi, I'm planning to buy in a short time Cobalt 816 Jubilee(the similar to cobalt 816 signature) loudspeakers and.....which amplifier of those two mantioned in the subject column do u think is more suitable to the loudspeakers.Harman/Kardon or NAD C 352?Do u have got any experiences with it ? Thank you very much for your response!
I have listened quite a bit to the cobalt 816 signatures, but not the Jubilee model (the JMLab dealer here in my town just closed down, so I no longer have a source for further listening). This dealer also carried both NAD and h/k, so I heard the speakers with both sources.
Initially, let me say that the Cobalts can be very harsh and unforgiving sounding with the wrong electronics. I think it has to do with the tweeter they use which is very "hot", but the Cobalts can present an awesome soundstage with the right electronics. Your choices are among the very few I would even consider with those speakers.
I am almost sorry to say this, but the right amp is the one you think sounds the best with the Cobalts, not me. I can tell you that both are very warm sounding with very good detail, and both are worthy of being matched to a fine set of speakers like the Cobalts, but the resulting sound is going to be different. The h/k sounds darker and a bit more recessed than the NAD. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing given the forward sound of the Cobalts (the important thing about putting a system together is to sonically balance a system so that nothing becomes too exaggerated such as the highs or low which can make a system sound harsh and edgey). Nevertheless, the differences between these amps I found noticeable right away. I personally prefer the NAD, both because I like its more open sound and because integrated amps is one thing NAD does just about better than anyone else, but this is a very close call as the h/k smooths out the Cobalts better than the NAD. Therefore, I would suggest that you get the Cobalts and try out both the NAD and the h/k with them with some music you like to listen to in your listening room in order to determine for yourself which works best with your room and your ears. After all, you are the one going to be using this system and you will want to enjoy it.
Hello Hawk,thank you for your response! I'm reading your article a bit later. Well i have chosen Harman finally for a while( because of money)till next upgrade(possibly ROTEL power amp. or Myryad integrated) but it's a long time track yet(many things can change it). I play trough my PC at this time some lossless quality files(because of money i won't mention it again).But I haven't got a good sound card yet.I've found M-Audio DELTA Audiophile 2496 on e-bay(but not mine yet)... want using it till the buy of a CDPlayer.And also looking for a quality loudspeaker biwire cable(on e-bay)to be matched to the system but I have no idea(any advice appropriated-thank you very much).Actually i have an idea(Cardas crosslink). Now I can tell you something how it sounds to me(but keep in your mind please my kit isn't completed yet as you can see above and what more?It's my first HQ electronics). So very briefly:very clean sound,nice space, perfect bass--> punchy-energetic and variant,"hot" vocal(possibly the tweeter's performance as mentioned in Hawk's article).Very nice sound of guitar(i dont know what type of guitar it is sorry about...electronic one i hope)it sounds like...like....i don't know how to describe it.Like cracking something also perfect almost breathtaking.