Front Audio Speakers with NAD C320BEE?

 

New member
Username: Nsanghani

Post Number: 2
Registered: May-05
I plan to buy the NAD C320BEE soon and would like to get some feedback on which speakers would go well with the amplifier. The purpose is pure audio listening (No Home Theatre !!!)

Thanks in advance
 

Bronze Member
Username: Stu_pitt

NYC, NY Pakistan

Post Number: 22
Registered: May-05
How much are you looking to spend? What type of speakers are you looking for - towers or bookshelves?
I have PSB Image t55's connected to my 320BEE and can't recommend them enough. Without getting into all of the subjective "audiophile" jargon, I think they sound very neutral, and have a big soundstage and great imaging. The entire Image series line uses the same tweeters, and use either a 5 1/4" or 6 1/2" driver, even the bookshelves. To me the t55's were the best for the price.
You can find some new "a-stock" PSB's online at hipposaudiovideo.com. Click on closeouts. They are an authorized dealer who dropped the line and selling them basically at cost. They are a family owned business who has been around for about 25 years, and just added internet sales a few years ago. I used to live a few miles away from their main store, and have nothing but good experiences with them. If you live near the NYC/Yonkers area, you can pick them up to save on shipping, and they gave me a few more dollars off too.
dmc-electronics.com also sells them online, but some are factory blemish models. Both retailers are around the same price, give or take a few dollars, but DMC also has a fewer older models that Hippo's doesn't have.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Nuck

Parkhill, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 74
Registered: Dec-04
NAD and PSB go back a long ways.
Each manufacturer recommends the other and always have. This combination is very neutral and pleasing from everything ive heard. I have all psb's and have not a single complaint.
I now have Rotel for the speakers(not NAD) but I trust the reviews for NAD and PSB.

Peace
 

Bronze Member
Username: Stu_pitt

NYC, NY Pakistan

Post Number: 23
Registered: May-05
PSB and NAD go way back because they are owned by the same parent company - Lenbrook. PSB's are still designed by Paul Barton, the founder and original owner of the company. I think that they just basically are a financial owner, kind of like ford owning volvo and jaguar. NAD and PSB may use each other's gear in research and development, but that's just speculation on my part.
 

Silver Member
Username: Valeem

Post Number: 166
Registered: Dec-03
Neeraj,

PSB are a good match with NAD but others I would add would be Acoustic Energy, B&W, KEF, Paradigm, NHT and Quad, Dynaudio and Magneplanars if the latter three are within your budget, even if they are not new they may well be used. I have heard them all except the Paradigms and NHT's but I know from other peoples experiances they go well with NAD.

Of all those I'd pick the maggies. I own some vintage Maggies and use them with my 320bee and the sound is just amazing! Clean, uncolored, fast, realistic with superb imaging and a great soundstage. Regarding the soundstage it is wide, tall and I believe deep but the bee won't show much depth as it's not it's forte. If there are downsides then maybe it would be bass weight, it's there but not in great quantity and also the size as they are quite wide and tall.

Good luck in your search!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Stu_pitt

NYC, NY Pakistan

Post Number: 28
Registered: May-05
I've been waiting to hear someone post about maggie's and the 320BEE. I was thinking about buying a pair before I bought my PSB's. I wasn't too sure if the 320BEE had enough power to really drive them without overheating the amp. The only maggie's my local retailer had were way out of my price range. I would have loved to try the one that you can order directly from Magnepan for about $550, but with my great luck, they wouldn't have worked out well, wasting my time and money in return shipping.
The other speakers you mentioned are very good speakers as well, you really can't go wrong with any of them... it's all a matter of preference.
 

Silver Member
Username: Valeem

Post Number: 167
Registered: Dec-03
The BEE can drive Maggies at least smaller ones IME. I must admit I was a bit concerned too but bought them anyway just to see what all the fuss was about. My amp does get a bit warmer with the Maggies than with the Missions I was using previously but not too hot to be concerned about and I never turn the volume up more than about 10 o'clock which is plenty loud enough for me. I have read other owners findings and they generally state that Maggies sound better with allot more power than the 50W at 8ohm that Magnepan recommend but then to get that extra power seems to require purchasing an amp with more ability so I guess they would sound better anyway. I'm happy with the NAD for now but will eventually get more power in the future to see for myself the improvements.

You are lucky that Magnepan will allow you to buy the MMG's direct as they won't ship them outside the US and Canada. To get them in the UK I would have to buy them from their European sellers and incur the extra costs which at least doubles the price and for me at least strips them of value. A bit of a wasted opportunity to get people 'hooked' on Maggies but then they sell all they make without difficulty.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Stu_pitt

NYC, NY Pakistan

Post Number: 39
Registered: May-05
One more question about the maggies - how does modern and classic rock sound on them? A lot of people say they don't do to well with it, but I think that any good neutral speaker would sound good with anything thrown at it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd think that along with a good subwoofer to make up for the lack of bass, maggies would be just as good if not better at playing something like Korn or Pink Floyd than comparable box speakers.
 

Silver Member
Username: Valeem

Post Number: 168
Registered: Dec-03
I tried some rock with the Maggies and the treble and mids were fine but you are correct the lack of bass power does spoil the party somewhat but thats nothing a good sub won't fix. However I would'nt use the sub to 'underpin' the Maggies instead introduce the sub further up the frequency range maybe upto 100Hz even. I have seen some cut off filters on the net that can be used to stop the bass frequencies from reaching the speakers but not sure if any improvement can be gained from doing it this way.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Stu_pitt

NYC, NY Pakistan

Post Number: 48
Registered: May-05
Interesting...
 

Raj D
Unregistered guest
NAD T753 vs Yamaha RX-V2500

I am looking to setup a hometheatre and am pretty much set on PSB speakers. (Most value for Money)
I was wondering if people had their experiences to share about pairing PSB with either the Yamaha RX-V2500 or the NAD T753.
I was inclined to go with the NAD initially, but am a little concerned about the quality problems, and dont want to spend time getting a 1000$ receiver repaired. Any suggestions welcome.
BTW, if it at all helps with answering my question, for listening to CD's my speaker/amp combination, (6 yrs old), is B&W DM602's & a Yamaha amp.
 

Silver Member
Username: Joe_c

Oakwood, Ga

Post Number: 611
Registered: Mar-05
on a score from one to ten
Yamaha - 6/music:9/HT
NAD - 10/music:9/HT
the yami will have more features but that NAD will bring those psb's to life
 

Silver Member
Username: Danman

QUEBEC CANADA

Post Number: 378
Registered: Apr-04
I use big 9.6 Wharfedales with my set up. I would suggest Quad as well and PSB but that is because I like a warmer sound. I had AXIOM M60's before and they were too bright for me as the the treble was tiring with NAD equipment.

RAJ D don't worry about QC problems with NAD. They are more rare than you read about and MANY AV receivers have particular problems due to their complexity. I am happy to only be interested in music and not have to worry about my equipments computer going out of whack!
 

JL
Unregistered guest
I'm looking for speakers to match the NAD C320 BEE amplifier. I've read the previous comments and opinions (thanks to all of you) and didn't see anything about the ones I have in mind: Epos ELS3 Monitor Speakers ($300). Any comments on these speakers? Especially in relation to the 320 BEE. Thanks!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Eieiei0101x

Post Number: 39
Registered: Jul-05
try totem dreamcatchers at 400$
 

Anoni
Unregistered guest
Eduardo,
Have you even listened to the Totems? at least you got the name right this time !
 

JL
Unregistered guest
Thanks, Eduardo! I saw the Totem Dreamcatcher in the manufacturer's web page. Really looks good, but I'm having a hard time finding a US dealer, espeacially a web page where I can find reviews and prices. Do you know any?

BTW, the few Totems that I saw are much more expensive than $400.

JL
 

Silver Member
Username: Stu_pitt

NYC, NY

Post Number: 308
Registered: May-05
I always wondered why most manufacturers don't post MSRP's on their website. This way people buying know how much they should be paying for them and know if they got a good deal or not.

If the prices change so fast (I haven't seen this happen yet), how hard is it to update the webpage. They have no problem updating them when new positive reviews come out though.
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