BI-amp NAD 372 & 275BEE & 165 Preamp w/Bose Equalizers

[Roddyboy]

Hello,
My original quest was to bi-amp NADS c272 with Nad372, now i'd like to go another direction and don't know if it can be done or is it overkill..
Is it possible to Bi-amp a NAD C275BEE & C165 preamp with NAD C372 and do you think it'd be worth it? or should i just stay with C275 and pre-amp? I want the best sound and most power to drive both pairs of Bose 901's. I've always been told i should use two separate amps to drive each pair of speakers. Plus is it possible to use two Bose equalizers?

 

[captrajesh]

It is not clear how you are going to do it. Does the pre-amp have two pairs of outputs, one for each power amp?

Do search the forum, there are a few threads on 'bi-amping' which are very informative.

 

[ravi_d]

Hello,
My original quest was to bi-amp NADS c272 with Nad372, now i'd like to go another direction and don't know if it can be done or is it overkill..
Is it possible to Bi-amp a NAD C275BEE & C165 preamp with NAD C372 and do you think it'd be worth it? or should i just stay with C275 and pre-amp? I want the best sound and most power to drive both pairs of Bose 901's. I've always been told i should use two separate amps to drive each pair of speakers. Plus is it possible to use two Bose equalizers?

Hi Roddyboy
NAD c372bee is an integrated amp and c272bee is a power amp. You don't need the pre amp c165bee.
The c372bee has two pre-outs the first pre-out is used to connect the preamp section and power amp sections of the amp which is just fine.
The second pre-out of the NAD integrated amp can be connected to the main-in of the power amp and have the speaker terminals of integrated amp connecting the HF binding posts of the speakers and speaker terminals of power amp connected to LF binding posts of the speaker.
The additional pre-amp is a waste of money and will not be any use for bi-amping when you have an integrated amp and power amp.
If you don't want to bi-amp just use integrated amp what ever you have. When you have integrated amp you don't need an additional pre-amp.

 

[rupy]

Hi,
How many 901's are you going to use?I did not understand how you want to use the amplifiers.I am also using 901'S.May be I could help.

 

[rupy]

Dear Ravi d,
The 901's have only one pair of binding posts as they are full range speakers.The Bose eq is connected between the pre-out and the main -in.

 

[Roddyboy]

Do you think the NAD372 will take away sound quality of the 275BEE? After reading several post, it sounds like the 275BEE is more musically sound and the 372 is much flatter.

 

[Roddyboy]

Hi Roddyboy
NAD c372bee is an integrated amp and c272bee is a power amp. You don't need the pre amp c165bee.
The c372bee has two pre-outs the first pre-out is used to connect the preamp section and power amp sections of the amp which is just fine.
The second pre-out of the NAD integrated amp can be connected to the main-in of the power amp and have the speaker terminals of integrated amp connecting the HF binding posts of the speakers and speaker terminals of power amp connected to LF binding posts of the speaker.
The additional pre-amp is a waste of money and will not be any use for bi-amping when you have an integrated amp and power amp.
If you don't want to bi-amp just use integrated amp what ever you have. When you have integrated amp you don't need an additional pre-amp.

I think I'll take your advice! I've decided not to purchase the NAD 165BEE though it's probably a better combo than the NAD 372. Do you think the NAD372 will take away sound quality of the 275BEE? After reading several post, it sounds like the 275BEE is more musically sound and the 372 is much flatter.

 

[Roddyboy]

Hi,
How many 901's are you going to use?I did not understand how you want to use the amplifiers.I am also using 901'S.May be I could help.

I have 4 901's and was planning to connect my one set to my NAD 372 and the other to NAD 275BEE. Just don't know if I should be hooking up both Bose equalizers

 

[Roddyboy]

It is not clear how you are going to do it. Does the pre-amp have two pairs of outputs, one for each power amp?

Do search the forum, there are a few threads on 'bi-amping' which are very informative.

Yeah, I'm going to read them now! I'm too much of a noobie and I sure don't want to hook up anything that'll keep my system from sounding it's best!

Thanks for the advice!

 

[hifipal4all]

I've decided not to purchase the NAD 165BEE though it's probably a better combo than the NAD 372. Do you think the NAD372 will take away sound quality of the 275BEE? After reading several post, it sounds like the 275BEE is more musically sound and the 372 is much flatter.

Well Roddy, even though the power rating of the C372 & the C275BEE are same in terms of wattage, the circuit design & the power supply design differ from each other. There are more chances of difference in output levels between the two of them. Also, in most cases a dedicated stereo preamplifier's sound quality is much better than the preamplifier section of any integrated amplifiers.

So I strongly recommend to go for one NAD C165BEE preamp & two C275BEE power blocks for a clean & perfect bi-amping.

Cheers

It is not clear how you are going to do it. Does the pre-amp have two pairs of outputs, one for each power amp?

Yes it has two pairs of outputs. 1 fixed level output & 1 variable level output.
Remember: For bi-amping with two identical power blocks, the Volume(db) level of variable output should be kept at '0' ... means full level ... so that the output gain levels of 1 & 2 becomes the same.

Reason for designing the output 2 as variable:
1) This will be helpful while using two power amplifiers which are not identical in terms of power (wattage). For eg: If there are two power amplifiers ... say one with a higher (150 RMS) & one with a lower wattage (100 RMS), the lower wattage power amplifier has to be connected to output 1 (fixed) & the higher wattage power amplifier has to be connected to ouput 2 (variable) & the gain level has to be adjusted to match the power of the lower wattage power amplifier.

2) If needed, a SUBWOOFER (Active or Passive) be connected to this output.

In case of an active subwoofer the gain level can be set to '0' & the output level of the subwoofer can be fine tuned to match the MAIN speakers by adjusting the volume control of the active subwoofer (in most of the subwoofers the control will be on the rear side).

To connect a PASSIVE subwoofer an additional stereo or a mono power amplifier is required. In this case, the gain level has to be adjusted on the preamplifier to match it with the MAIN speakers.

For those who are not aware of the difference between Active & Passive subwoofers.
Active subwoofers include a built-in amplifier with various controls & Passive subwoofers have a subwoofer driver and enclosure and they are powered by an external amplifier.

Rear images of NAD C165BEE Preamplifier, An Active subwoofer, A Passive subwoofer:

 

[rupy]

I have 4 901's and was planning to connect my one set to my NAD 372 and the other to NAD 275BEE. Just don't know if I should be hooking up both Bose equalizers

Bose 901's have to be connected via the equaliser provided by Bose.Otherwise they would sound useless.