During my search for a reasonably high power integrated amplifier i came across the NAD C375BEE 150 Watts amplifier. Planning to test it in my own setup next week i started reading some reviews and was totally surprised by the WHF review. I also read the Stereophile review by Sam Tellig and the HifiChoice review and both these are about 100% the opposite of the WHF review. According to me this can not be the result of different tastes if you look at the below extracts from both reviews.
WHF: "An average performance which doesn’t do quite enough to justify the price"
Stereophile: "From the get-go, I could hear that this NAD is a very special amplifier – up there in sound quality with the best solid-state." and "the C375BEE integrated amplifier, on the other hand, performs way, way out of its price class"
WHF: "There’s decent weight, depth and control to low-end frequencies, and overall insight is reasonable, but there’s a lack of punch and dynamics that leaves us far from engaged."
Stereophile: "The Harbeths had bass dynamics and extension I hadn't heard before, including with some amps far more expensive than the NAD"
HifiChoice: "classical music tends to have wider dynamics than most other styles and hence benefits most from high power output, and indeed we found ready use for the power in uncompressed symphony orchestra recordings. Bass drum and timpani rarely sound so vivid!"
WHF: "With all that muscle under the lid, this lack of drive is surprising – as is the fact that, when asked to really belt out a tune at loud volume, the amp has a tendency to harden up at the top end and sound cluttered with busier tracks."
HifiChoice: "The Bowers and Wilkins 803S is a fairly tricky load and needs a firm hand to keep the bass precise, but the 375Bee proves more than ready for the challenge. even when delivering peaks close to the 200 watts threshold there was no sense of strain, nor of the shift of focus that often occurs when amps start to run out of puff – loud bass making the midrange and treble wilt, and vice-versa."
So i was wondering if WHF perhaps received a faulty NAD C375BEE? Are there people who own(ed) this amplifier and have an opinion about it?
WHF: "An average performance which doesn’t do quite enough to justify the price"
Stereophile: "From the get-go, I could hear that this NAD is a very special amplifier – up there in sound quality with the best solid-state." and "the C375BEE integrated amplifier, on the other hand, performs way, way out of its price class"
WHF: "There’s decent weight, depth and control to low-end frequencies, and overall insight is reasonable, but there’s a lack of punch and dynamics that leaves us far from engaged."
Stereophile: "The Harbeths had bass dynamics and extension I hadn't heard before, including with some amps far more expensive than the NAD"
HifiChoice: "classical music tends to have wider dynamics than most other styles and hence benefits most from high power output, and indeed we found ready use for the power in uncompressed symphony orchestra recordings. Bass drum and timpani rarely sound so vivid!"
WHF: "With all that muscle under the lid, this lack of drive is surprising – as is the fact that, when asked to really belt out a tune at loud volume, the amp has a tendency to harden up at the top end and sound cluttered with busier tracks."
HifiChoice: "The Bowers and Wilkins 803S is a fairly tricky load and needs a firm hand to keep the bass precise, but the 375Bee proves more than ready for the challenge. even when delivering peaks close to the 200 watts threshold there was no sense of strain, nor of the shift of focus that often occurs when amps start to run out of puff – loud bass making the midrange and treble wilt, and vice-versa."
So i was wondering if WHF perhaps received a faulty NAD C375BEE? Are there people who own(ed) this amplifier and have an opinion about it?
. Good luck beating that one! :twisted:
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