Pairing NAD equipment

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Hi there,

Following some demoing, I've just bought a NAD 545BEE CD player and a NAD 355BEE amp.

I've got some ideas in mind for speakers, speaker cables and interconnects. However, I'd like to ask the collective wisdom of the forum what products they think would suit this amp and source pairing. My budget for the speakers is quite wide - £300 to £1k. For the cables and interconnects, probably about £200 all in. My taste in music is broad, ranging from Nordic jazz pianists to dub reggae.

Any thoughts out there?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Anonymous

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Thought Id put my tuppence worth. Now this is only from my experience of my NAD amp but from what I gather they have a similar tonal balance.

Id say ATCs match well with the NAD. Very neutral sounding and will withstand future upgrades if you feel the need. The ATC SCM7s are around £550 or the SCM11s at just under a grand. Shop around for ex demo though and save a few pennies.

As for cabling. I just changed all mine. I found a huge difference. Im now using an AUdioquest Ruby interconnet and Chord Rumour 2 speaker cables. I changed both at the same time so not sure had the greater effect. Again these cables will be inplace fpr any upgrades.

As a Dunfermline fan i shouldnt really be telling you this though!
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AL13N

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The WHF systems supertest suggested the EB Acoustics EB1 as an 'Instant upgrade' to the 545/326 combo, so should work well with your setup.

They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, so see how they sound in your home and send them back if you're not happy.
 

drummerman

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I am glad someone mentioned a standmount before the inevitable MA RS. Can't suggest anything as I haven't heard any NAD products for a while (or MA's newer RX range) but I'd personally certainly would also look at well engineered bookshelf speakers at that price. - I can't get my head around the MA craze, at least for some of their speakers, but half the forum will probably disagree with me.
 
scotty_dog:Hi there,

Following some demoing, I've just bought a NAD 545BEE CD player and a NAD 355BEE amp.

I've got some ideas in mind for speakers, speaker cables and interconnects. However, I'd like to ask the collective wisdom of the forum what products they think would suit this amp and source pairing. My budget for the speakers is quite wide - £300 to £1k. For the cables and interconnects, probably about £200 all in. My taste in music is broad, ranging from Nordic jazz pianists to dub reggae.

Any thoughts out there?

Thanks in advance!

Hi scotty_dog

Within your budget the following speakers work well with your NAD components

Monitor Audio's RX1, RX2 and RX6

ATC's SCM7 and SCM11

Dynaudio's DM2/6, 2/7 Excite X12

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft
 
T

the record spot

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JohnDuncan:Can't get my head round the audio question right now, but can I just offer you congratulations on your team's success in the league over the weekend*

*nnnnnggggggghhhhhhhh

I can get my head round the question and I echo John's sentiments.

As a Celtic fan, might I recommend you try out Matsui. Or that Tesco Value system. £20 or less.
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Joking aside, there's a stack of good speaker options out there right now, but are you into standmount, or floorstanding speakers? Some good deals to be had with some brands coming right down in price (Q Acoustics 1050i for less than £200, Quad 22L2 for about £650, Dali 2.8 floorstander for some stupidly low price too - floorstanders all, but check out Leema's Xero as well, which is an excellent standmount).
 
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Anonymous

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Wow, thank you to all for the learned and interesting comments. (Secondly, I'm surprised and amused by the number of hifi SPL fans. Excellent!)

I must say the EB1 speakers are an interesting proposition. I would love to get my hands on a pair. My gut instinct tells me they would be ideal for my purposes. Unfortunately, my gut instinct combined with a few comments on these boards suggest it might be a difficult process. Malfunctioning websites and reports of long wait times from a relatively unknown company don't fill me with confidence...

So perhaps it will be the RX6 or one of the ATCs.

But what about cables and interconnects? Should I stick with Chord? Would anything better be a waste for relatively cheap NAD components?
 
scotty_dog:Wow, thank you to all for the learned and interesting comments. (Secondly, I'm surprised and amused by the number of hifi SPL fans. Excellent!) I must say the EB1 speakers are an interesting proposition. I would love to get my hands on a pair. My gut instinct tells me they would be ideal for my purposes. Unfortunately, my gut instinct combined with a few comments on these boards suggest it might be a difficult process. Malfunctioning websites and reports of long wait times from a relatively unknown company don't fill me with confidence... So perhaps it will be the RX6 or one of the ATCs. But what about cables and interconnects? Should I stick with Chord? Would anything better be a waste for relatively cheap NAD components?

One slight word of caution: The Nads, however good, back in 2005 (I think) WHFI conducted one of their all-in-one make Tests, combining the Nad 352 + CDP (can't remember the model) with Quad 11Ls. They commented, paraphrasing here: "This system is like the Real Madrid Football team...." Basically, it was brimmed with five star components, and concluded, that it did not marry well together. Apparently the Nads struggled to power the Quads.

On that premise, Quads and ATCs are to be avoided*. You'd probably be better off with (or safer) with a higher decibel speaker, Like Monitor Audio, Focal or Dali.

*Info is not from personal experience, gained from WHFI & a Nad retailer.
 
scotty_dog:Wow, thank you to all for the learned and interesting comments. (Secondly, I'm surprised and amused by the number of hifi SPL fans. Excellent!)

I must say the EB1 speakers are an interesting proposition. I would love to get my hands on a pair. My gut instinct tells me they would be ideal for my purposes. Unfortunately, my gut instinct combined with a few comments on these boards suggest it might be a difficult process. Malfunctioning websites and reports of long wait times from a relatively unknown company don't fill me with confidence...

So perhaps it will be the RX6 or one of the ATCs.

But what about cables and interconnects? Should I stick with Chord? Would anything better be a waste for relatively cheap NAD components?

Hi scotty_dog

The RX6's or the from the ATC's the SCM11's will do the trick nicely. Although do also consider one of the Dynaudio's as they also work well with NAD.

For speaker cables you may be interested to know that at the moment i mostly use a generic cable which at around £3/m and as for interconnects firstly try the ones which come supplied with the NAD cd player however if you wish to push the boat out than Van Den Hul's classic D102 MK3 also works well with NAD.

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft
 
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Anonymous

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Very helpful, thanks PP and MUSICRAFT.

Interesting to hear a generic cable being recommended. In some ways that's an extension of the fact that throwing money at the problem doesn't always yield good results. I remember getting excited about the prospect of some Creek Evo gear a couple of years ago. (More expensive than the NAD components I've plumped for now.) However, having tested the Creeks, I came away pretty disappointed. Too thin for my tastes.

I see there's a new EB2 on the updated ebacoustics website. If it wasn't for the waiting times.... Think I may end up going down the Monitor Audio route.
 

d_a_n1979

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Not sure why the NAD's were classed as underpowered when it came to QUAD speakers as I demo'd the QUAD 22L2's and they were superb and very well powered indeed
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Also agree with the likes of the M/A RX2's and the RX6's as well as the Dynaudio DM 2/7's and the ATC's.

Also have a look at the B&W 685's and possibly the B&W 683's.

As you can see if the NAD amp and CDP combo below with the M/A RX6's and it's a superb system with great synergy!

As for cables; Chord Carnival Silverscreen or the QED Revalation would be worth looking at as would the Chord Crimson, Atlas Equator and Black Rhodium Prelude interconnects
 
d_a_n1979:Not sure why the NAD's were classed as underpowered when it came to QUAD speakers as I demo'd the QUAD 22L2's and they were superb and very well powered indeed
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Also agree with the likes of the M/A RX2's and the RX6's as well as the Dynaudio DM 2/7's and the ATC's. Also have a look at the B&W 685's and possibly the B&W 683's. As you can see if the NAD amp and CDP combo below with the M/A RX6's and it's a superb system with great synergy! As for cables; Chord Carnival Silverscreen or the QED Revalation would be worth looking at as would the Chord Crimson, Atlas Equator and Black Rhodium Prelude interconnects

I'm not sure either, dan. I was told the original L series standmounters were complete rascals to power, so I assume that the Nad was a bit foxed by them, in terms of getting the best sound quality.

If I get a moment today, I'll try and dig up the mag....
 
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Anonymous

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Hey there,

I've got a Nad C350 and C541i CD player matched with KEF iQ3 speakers. I find them very well matched as far as giving as transparent a sound as possible. Sound visualisation is absolutely amazing. I can usually place most things in distinct spots. It does lack a little bass definition so I bought an MJ Acoustic ref100 sub which gives the system a lush, full but unobtrusive bass. I love my system and do not feel the need to go any further upgradewise.

My speaker cable is Chord Carnival Silver Plus which I love too. I do have a rubbish QED qunex 1 i/c which I really want to replace.

iQ3s were around £300 but you can find them for £150 now.

Best of luck in your choices!
 
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Anonymous

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A small update:

Now got some Chord Cobra Plus interconnects. Next up, some Chord Odyssey speaker cable....
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Right, who can relate to this?

Having thought about it a bit more, and read a few old posts on this forum, I'm now unsure I've made the right choice with the Chord Cobra Plus. I think I'm going to have to return it and get the Chord Chameleon Silver Plus.

It's only marginally more expensive yet it appears to offer a bit more resistance to the rabid beast that is upgrade-itis.

I think I already know what I'm going to do tomorrow.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
A quick update to an old thread... The system is complete and in place! (See signature for details).

2 weeks in and I'm absolutely loving it. The detail, tonal balance and bass response are all very satisfying. Build quality and finish on the components are also of a high standard. The stuff looks and feels good... Special praise goes to the RX6s though. They really are solidly built, well designed bits of kit.

Having this extra gear of fidelity on hand has had a slightly unexpected consequence though. There are recordings and recordings - some favourite CDs sound flat and dull (Doves - Some Cities) while others shine (Tord Gustavsen - Being There). From older albums, Al Green sounds particularly rich, while late night Kenny Burrell is as warm and engaging as I'd hoped for. All that remains, for now ;), is to sit back and enjoy revisiting my CD collection.

Thanks to all for the advice and perspectives.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
nice system youve got there scotty
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im using nordost cable , sounds great to me , but im going to try the chord carnival silverscreen , hopefully for an even better sound
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i know exactly what you mean regarding cd quality , poor recordings are done no favours , but well recorded stuff sounds super ....
 

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