I've been trawling the net for hours, in search of a review for the NAD 304. I found one in a list now, no matter how much I try, cannot find it again.
Please can someone direct me to sources of knowledge?
I've read a review somewhere on the net, but can't remember where. It was by one of the major magazines, maybe Stereophile?
I used to own the 304. It's currently anchoring my 14 year old brother's Xbox/iPod/Insignia speaker system (the Insignias that everyone was raving about).
I replaced the 304 with a 320BEE. My only reason was kind of stupid - I wanted a remote control. If this helps, tonally they sound very similar. The 320BEE is a little more refined, but the 304 seems to have a flatter frequency response to my ears.
The phono input is very good. To be honest, I thought it was somewhat better than the NAD PP2 phono stage.
I've hooked up a lot of different speakers - from totaly garbage 'White Van' speakers to some power hungry NHT towers. While I was in college and a few years afterward, a lot of friends used my 304 as a reference amp, hence the multitude of speakers tried. It never had a problem with any speaker attached as long as I didn't try to make it do impossible things.
Depending on your room size and speaker efficiency, it may or may not have enough power. In an average sized room, I had no problems driving my PSB Image T55 towers or PSB Century 500i to loud levels.
Keep in mind that any 304 amp probably 15 or so years old. Depending on use or lack thereof, care taken for it, etc., your results may vary quite a bit. Mine (now my brother's) is very well taken care of.
The only fault that I've ever encountered was the solder joints for the inputs. My father being the master mechanic that he is says that they weren't soldered very well. He resoldered the phono and cd inputs for me. Never had any other problems.
What else can I tell you... I'm not too sure. Feel free to ask any questions.
Thankyou, Stu. I found that very helpful, as a matter of fact.
I'm still weighing one 304 against many others, including a C357, which I simply can't afford now.
There is also a 716 surround amp. I'm used to very simple, 2 channel sound. It will probably bid up to more than the deposit for a new one anyhow.
Then my 'sensible voice' starts up with "get the 3155 - its got to be better than your old 3225PE..!" Not necessarily, though... Hard choice, without being able to listen.
Then perhaps I could always make-do with that old 3130, I could have: £49 +postage on a 'Buy It Now'.
Ah... I dunno. I've had to go away and cool off from it all. I can't decide which will be best for me. Oh for the buying power, to just walk into a showroom...
The thing that turns me on, is when you find a gem; Like with my old 3020... But I've simply outgrown it's limitations.
If you own that and it's in operable condition, most of the ones listed will probably be a lateral move IMO.
If you don't have anything right now and need a temporary band-aid, pretty much any of them will suffice, as long as they can drive your speakers. They all have the a similar house sound.
The C352 would hands down be the best of the bunch IMO.
If you're looking for a short term replacement and loved your 3020, the 304 will probably run closest. It'll most likely have the limitations the 3020 did. Its 35 wpc. If you need specs on any NAD gear, search around the NAD website. I believe they have old brochures with specs on PDF format in the Support section.
I'll be out of town and away from the computer for a few days. If you need more help, let me know.
Yes, I have the 3225PE, which is broken. I have a 3020 standing in in the living room, but when the 3225 was operational, the 3020 was on computer/art studio duty.
To be honest, Stu, your comments speak volumes to me, compared with a mere list of specs. Because most tech talk is chinese to me, I find that by reading (honest) reviews, where a tester has listened critically and mentioned both low and high points, gives me the best idea about a piece of gear.
Of course, silly as it sounds, I've avoided the BEE models and I think this is down to the fact they've all too often been laid against the C357, whose general reputation is of the best NAD can provide in this price bracket.
I still sometimes wonder about what a new C320 BEE would do for me, in reality. I can get this, possibly the entry level, new, for around £200.
I'm not sure, although noticing after a certain point, NAD simply stopped putting internal phono stages into their amps, I would not be surprised to find it doesn't.
Which is a shame, because the big selling factor for NAD is VFM. As the amps have become more powerful and ISC came in, they've dropped the stages.
Still, I trust that they'll be worth it in many ways.
None of the current NAD integrateds have an internal phono stage. They have an input called "disc," but its not a true phono input. They label it that way so you can connect an external phono stage to it. I run mine with a PP-2. It suffecient for me for now. When I re-do the system, it'll definitely be replaced.
If your budget is tight, the 320BEE could be the way to go. If your budget can stretch it, the 352 is easily worth the added price. It sounds much more natural and doesn't have the frequency response bumps the 320BEE has. The 372 may be better than the 352, but if you don't need the extra power it may not be worth your time.
I wouldn't look at either of the BEE models, since my review sources tell me these are the entry level amps in the NAD range and therefore may be coloured slightly, to accept a cheaper range of speakers.
I wouldn't consider buying a C357 new, because at it's current RRP, it's way above budget. The C352 is something of an improvement over the older C350 (more on this in a moment!) and would seem to more than adequately fulfill my requirements for neutrality, soundstaging and bass control. Only problem is that a new one is more than I can afford right now and second hand, well - they are shooting up above my current budget... So...
I'm about to become the proud owner of a once award winning...
C350!
In very nearly mint condition, too!. Box, manual, fully working remote.
Considering I was looking for a rough patch for a broken 3225PE, along the lines of 3030 and 3130, as you might imagine, I'm very excited, awaiting it's arrival!
Oh - and what I've saved, I shall put towards an outboard phono stage in future. I can wait for now, to hear my vinyl - while I use CD and all those other useful inputs. I think it's better to be patient and build the system back up, slowly, than to try and cram everything into a small budget at once.