NAD C316BEE Help

[DanishPastry]

Hello WhatHiFi,

I have a pair of Dali Zensor 3 hooked up to a small NAD C316BEE amp, and i do not find the bass quite enough.

I have been wondering, if i am able to hook a subwoofer up to this amp, in any possible way? I know it does not have a pre out for a subwoofer, but is there any other way of doing so? I am looking at either a Dali Concept 12 Sub, 225w or a Dali Sub E-12 F 220w.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[GCE]

Buy a new amp with loudness, like Pioneer, Denon,

Marantz, Luxman, Accuphase or an used old one;

no sub allowed, as Nad doesn't sport nor sub out, neither B spk out ...

 

[nickos99]

I had same issue when listening to music through my Yamaha RX-673 AV and mission 780 argonauts (speakers had a frequency ressponse of 25htz i think)

Changed it for a 20 odd year old audiolab 8000a amp and marantz cd player and the bass response is excellent. Do not add a sub, you will be disappointed

 

[eggontoast]

If you want to add a sub just buy one with high level inputs which you connect to the speaker outputs (you can connect both speakers and sub)

 

[DanishPastry]

If you want to add a sub just buy one with high level inputs which you connect to the speaker outputs (you can connect both speakers and sub)

What is meant by high level inputs? And how do i check if either of these subs has got this? Im most in for the Dali Sub E-12 F.
And, how can i connect both to the speaker outputs?

 

[eggontoast]

No those subs don't have high level inputs.

have a read of this http://rel.net/support/rel-connectivity/ to bring yourself up to speed on the different ways of connecting a sub.

 

[DanishPastry]

Okay, thank you.

To be honest, i do not feel like i gained much information on connecting a sub to my amp, the NAD C316BEE. These are the in/outputs as seen on the back. Is there any way to possibly connect a sub?

Link to picture: http://www.hifisound.de/oxid/out/oxbaseshop/html/0/dyn_images/3/NAD-2023502.jpg

 

[eggontoast]

Well this is hard work !

High level inputs on a sub are fed from the speaker outputs of your amplifier, the REL link explains this well. Because the input impedance of the sub is really high you can connect it to the same terminals as your speakers, it doesn't add any load to the amplifier just drops this signal down to line level for the subs internal amplifier. This means you will have your speakers and subwoofer connected to the loudspeaker terminals i.e. Two cables in each loudspeaker socket.

 

[Blackdawn]

Hi what sort of music do you listen to ? When you say the bass isn't enough - do you mean the frequency does not drop low enough or that there isn't enough overall bass (regardless of the frequency?) Is it your first HiFi ? (maybe your used to a diff. sound). First things first - try moving the speakers a little closer to the rear wall to re-inforce the bass. If this doesn't work - you may want to try floorstanders instead - although I'm suprised the 7 inch main driver of the Dali's does not seem to produce enough bass. Most budget standmounts don't usually go much below 50 hz +-3db. Make sure you run them in well before trying new speakers.

 

[DanishPastry]

Eggontoast: Okay thanks, i did not pick that part up i suppose. Can you recommend any subswith a high input impedance? Or brands, for that matter?

I listen to wide range of electronica and EDM, which might be why i do not find the bass quite sufficient. I also feel like the bass does not travel equally well in my room, has anyone had problems with this? It depends on where in the room i am positioned, and how far from the speakers i am positioned. Also some pop, some hiphop, some rock and some country once in a while.

I would not say they dont drop low enough, but more that the quantity it is lacking. They are right now positioned about 15cm off the wall, should i try and move them closer?

 

[Blackdawn]

Short answer - yes try them closer. Dali recommends between 5 and 30 cm depending on space and taste. The closer to the wall the more bass. So I would try 5 cm and move them out from there a cm at a time until your happy. Also as you say you like EDM which implies you probably like going to clubs ? and are used to large PA systems. Budget Hifi will never achieve this type of sound/volume. Yes its quite normal to get more bass in some parts of the room depending on where you are. e.g. if I stand at the back of my room the bass sounds far more pronounced than sitting near the speaker on a chair.

 

[GCE]

Here is the solution: look at pag 5/104, fig 6

on this B&W link:

>>> http://www.bowers-wilkins.it/Downloads/Product/Manual/ENG_FP26573_ASW-610_manual.pdf

You can link the sub cables

with spk cables together at

amp's spk out

terminals... 8)

 

[DanishPastry]

Okay, thanks for that. Those diagrams helped a lot..
Now moving on, which subwoofers will i be able to pair up this way?

And, will this reduce the power going to my speakers, or will the cables to the sub just send the signal and not try to power it?

 

[GCE]

For more than 20 sqm room you can buy a B&W 610 sub

( 608 for less) or every other sub with high level inputs.

No problem for your Nad, current to feed is likewise a signal,

due for high impedance of sub's high input:

the hard work is made from sub's amp, which has 150 W or more for this

job... 8)

 

[davedotco]

Eggontoast: Okay thanks, i did not pick that part up i suppose. Can you recommend any subswith a high input impedance? Or brands, for that matter?

I listen to wide range of electronica and EDM, which might be why i do not find the bass quite sufficient. I also feel like the bass does not travel equally well in my room, has anyone had problems with this? It depends on where in the room i am positioned, and how far from the speakers i am positioned. Also some pop, some hiphop, some rock and some country once in a while.

I would not say they dont drop low enough, but more that the quantity it is lacking. They are right now positioned about 15cm off the wall, should i try and move them closer?

I think this is the issue.

You clearly have a sound that you are trying to re-create and it is highly unlikely that you are going to get it from budget hi-fi components.

There is a way to do what you want but I very much doubt that you well be open to it as it is pretty radical and involves replacing both your amp and speakers.

BTW. What are your sources?

 

[DanishPastry]

I think you might be somewhat right on that.

I most of the time do not like what many clubs systems sound like, but don't you think i would get closer to what i want, by adding a subwoofer?

I am open to hearing your ideas, but i very much like my zensor 3's. I might consider changing my amp, as i know it is a budget amp.

My source is either a blueray player or a bluetooth reciever (decent quality, not jack).

Will i be able to pair my amp and speakers with either a SVS SB1000 og SVS SB12-NSD subwoofers? both are decently compact, 3-400 watts.

 

[davedotco]

The problem is an inability to think differently.

Paraphrasing your comments I think it is clear that what you want is a 'really good' club setup scaled down to a domestic level.

Not difficult, but you have to put the branding and the bling factor to one side, the Zensor 3 are good speakers for the money, but they are hi-fi speakers and are very good at a lot of things that are not that important to you, less good at some of the things that are.

The big limitation you have is a real lack of bass punch and presence, a subwoofer will only help to a very modest degree, what you really need is to improve your mid bass. The answer of course is to use active monitors, there are a number of models, at different prices, that will do exactly that.

Mackie are probably the models to beat in this instance, perhaps not quite as refined as the Adam and Presonus speakers I often recomend but immensely powerful and punchy, from the MR8s at around £300 to the quite awsome HR824 ar a little over £1k. Bear in mind that you will need some kind of a preamp for your disc players.