NAD C352 Integrated Amplifier Review

NAD C352 Integrated Amplifier Review

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Jim Hannon of A/V Guide Monthly starts of his 3 part series "Super Starter Audio System" with a great review on the NAD C352 Integrated Amplifier. Read more below:

Source http://www.nadelectronics.com/reviews/C352-0105.html

Part 1: The Amplifier

The first component under review in this “Super Starter System” is the NAD C 352 integrated amplifier. I’ve had very good luck with NAD gear over the years. My teenage daughters use an old NAD 7150 stereo receiver I’ve had as a backup for ages, and I own a more recent NAD T752 AVR for my home theater rig. While not all NAD products have lived up to the reputation of the original 3020, all the units I have owned over the years have sounded quite musical and the new NAD C 352 has musicality in spades. When I first listened to it paired with the great little Snell K-7 bookshelf speakers I reviewed last month, I was surprised by its wide soundstage and midrange clarity. I really enjoyed this combination in my bedroom system and found myself listening to lots of piano music ranging from Bach Partitas 1,3,6 [Virgin Classics] to The Piano Music of Nikolai Medtner [Chesky]. I don’t think I’ve ever had better music reproduction in my bedroom, and it was a gas!

The NAD C 352 offers significant enhancements over the well-regarded C 350 model it replaced. The new unit boasts a more robust all-metal chassis, a larger custom wound toroidal power transformer, upgraded “Class A” preamp and driver stage modules, and lower noise and distortion. Better still, it offers 80 watts of continuous power per channel and it sounds much more powerful than that. Part of the reason is NAD’s proprietary PowerDriveTM technology which delivers high dynamic power with the ability to drive low impedances, enabling this integrated amplifier to work with a host of different types of loudspeakers. While not an ideal sonic match for my high-resolution reference speakers, I found the C 352 was stable enough to drive the difficult loads of both my Quad electrostatics and my Genesis Vs. Most budget amplifiers, as well as several costlier units, wilt under these demands.

Indeed, the C 352 may be one of the most flexible integrated amplifiers under a thousand bucks. According to Mark Stone, NAD’s Marketing Manager, the C 352 has similar “guts” to NAD’s own separates, the C 162 and C 272. Chris Martens raved about their sound in a review in our sister publication, The Absolute Sound. The C 352 is really a separate preamplifier and amplifier in one chassis and these two sections can be easily de-coupled by removing the supplied external jumpers. This gives you many of the advantages of separates without incurring a cost penalty for them. It also saves you the expense of interconnects between the preamplifier and amplifier. What a good deal!

Should you upgrade your line section, you can still use the C 352’s amplifier section, or vice versa. One of things I liked best was the unit’s two preamplifier outputs. This allows a range of configurations including the addition of a powered subwoofer, an external amplifier, or both at the same time. A NAD C 272 power amplifier can be easily combined with the C 352’s own amplifier section for extra power in a bi-amplified system, should your speakers need some extra juice. While I didn’t feel a need for more power with the speakers I will propose in Part III of this series, NAD gives you an easy upgrade path so you can easily increase the base unit’s available power and headroom.

Flexible and intuitive tone controls work to help increase the musicality and enjoyment of the system. As many “Top 100” CDs are mixed “hot,” with exaggerated levels in the highs and bass, I used the C 352’s tone controls to help tame the treble and flatten out the bass, making these CDs much more listenable. For good recordings, I used the “tone defeat” switch to remove the tone controls from the circuit.

Accessibility, or ease of use, is another of the C 352’s great attributes. While this is typically not a concern of many audiophiles, it is an important factor in introducing high quality sound to typical music enthusiasts. The C 352 comes with a remote control that is as easy to use as one for a television set, and it can control the entire system. I liked being able to adjust the volume and switch tracks without leaving my listening position. Whereas my wife and daughters avoid touching my reference system, they have been drawn to the C 352 and feel comfortable and confident using it. The NAD also includes a soft clipping feature that keeps you from frying your speakers if the amplifier is overdriven. It’s another nice touch.

Whereas the C 352 works extremely well in the context of the proposed system, it may or may not be the best choice for other systems. When I used the C 352 with the remarkable $4000/pair Hyperion 928s (which I reviewed in AVguide Monthly issue 4), I lost some of the sonic attributes that make that speaker system so outstanding, but that combination still sounded pretty darn good. The lateral soundstage was wide and precise, the dynamic swings still sent some chills down my spine, and voices and instruments had an appealing richness. If you have efficient speakers, NAD’s own C320BEE offers similar sonic attributes and will save you a few hundred bucks. According to Mr. Stone, both units use the same “design platform,” but the smaller sibling gives you less power and flexibility. While it is difficult to fault the C 352’s musicality, some may desire more power, transient speed, and dynamic range. The Musical Fidelity X- 150 that so impressed AVguide Monthly reviewer Sallie Reynolds is a more costly alternative that could fit the bill, and it also includes a phono stage.

The C 352 works quite synergistically with the components of the “Super Starter System” and illustrates the importance of good system matching. I got more apparent image depth with this entry system on Wayne Shorter’s Speak No Evil [Blue Note] and Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain [Columbia] than when I used the C 352 with some of my reference speakers! Listening to Pink Floyd’s reissue of Money [EMI/Capitol], I was pleased by the system’s ability to really rock and maintain its composure at fairly high output levels. David Gilmour’s voice, the sound of the guitars and drums, and other “effects” were appealing and nicely balanced.

The NAD C 352 is one of those components that should provide you with years of faithful service and musical enjoyment. I think many of you are going to be surprised by just how good it sounds in the “Super Starter System,” and this integrated amplifier easily meets my system objectives of musicality, flexibility, and accessibility, The NAD C 352 is one of those components that should provide you with years of faithful service and musical enjoyment. I think many of you are going to be surprised by just how good it sounds in the “Super Starter System,” and this integrated amplifier easily meets my system objectives of musicality, flexibility, and accessibility, as well as being a great value. NAD’s new integrated amplifier is userfriendly and provides several different configuration options, allowing you to grow your system and avoid obsolescence. Better still, its ability to float an image between the speakers and reproduce voice and strings with a surprising richness is light years ahead of typical “mid-fi” fare and should attract a new segment of music lovers. You are likely to find that this is one component you will want to have around for years."

NAD C352 Integrated Amplifier Review