NAD C 316BEE V2 Integrated Amplifier Review

[Doodski]

Speaking of heat from the amplifier as addressed in the thread earlier, I'm generally wondering about BEE constructions.

I had a NAD C720BEE receiver and I found it to be much hotter than my other amplifiers.Other than that it was a good receiver, big and ugly but good.

Are all Bjørn Erik Edvardsen constructions more than "normally" warm, hot amplifiers? Maybe it doesn't matter that much, or does it?

It depends on how the device is built. With the 316 BEE V2 there are heatsinks on the voltage amplification and driver transistors. This is a major step in prolonging the reliability and longevity because the majority of the heat goes to the heatsink and not down the legs of the transistors located on those small heatsinks. When a transistor runs too hot it distorts and heat goes down the legs and dissociates/cracks the solder. Another idea NAD used to keep distortion down and power delivery up is putting the smoothing caps/power supply caps caps right beside the output transistors. But again they will run a bit warmer than if they are located far away from the heatsink. It's a trade-off to have lower distortion to put it all arranged the way they did it and they chose lower distortion and higher bias rather than very cool running. Bias is the voltage applied to the output transistors to ensure they do not turn off at the zero crossover point. If the device runs at a warm hypothetical 50C then it is still 35C below the threshold of 85C for thermal runaway. So there is lots of room remaining for temperature deltas to go even higher. The caps are heating up a bit more too and of course as usual they don't like heat but those heatsinks spread out the heat and make-up for that to a degree.

I outlined the heatsinks that I mentioned and the location of the smoothing /power supply caps.

 

[martin900]

Experience does not confirm this assertion. Many of our membership have NAD gear >10 years old and it's still running fine.

YMMV, mine was the exact opposite - dead after warranty. CD players were by far the worst, I stopped at the BEE series.

 

[PuX]

CD players were by far the worst, I stopped at the BEE series.

my C545 also acted up a few times, it had no problems with sound or actual reading of CDs, but the electronics got wonky - either it would not open the tray or continue closing it when already closed and other similar issues.
also it went into shuffle/repeat cycles randomly.
both issues are major problems of course.

as for amps the only problem with my C355 was the volume control making noise in 1 channel when playing music and changing volume at the same time. this is easy to live with.

 

[DanielT]

..as for amps the only problem with my C355 was the volume control making noise in 1 channel when playing music and changing volume at the same time. this is easy to live with.

Did you try to..

Deoxit - How to use it and other electronics control cleaner stuff.

Deoxit web page is here. NOTE: If you are not a techy do not turn the bias pots, the phono pots or the tuner pots on the PCB's. You will put the device out of calibration and it will not operate properly or you can damage it. In the following video he details cleaning those pots, do not turn them.

audiosciencereview.com

...your volume pot?

 

[PuX]

Did you try to..

Deoxit - How to use it and other electronics control cleaner stuff.

Deoxit web page is here. NOTE: If you are not a techy do not turn the bias pots, the phono pots or the tuner pots on the PCB's. You will put the device out of calibration and it will not operate properly or you can damage it. In the following video he details cleaning those pots, do not turn them.

audiosciencereview.com

...your volume pot?

I did hear that it's an option but never got around to try this as it really did not bother me too much.
eventually switched to ad different amp as my main one so might try this sometime when I have nothing to do.

 

[Blake Klondike]

Reserved for @AdamG to kindly post the specs.

Manufacturer Specifications:

View attachment 385941

View attachment 385942

Does Cambridge Audio's similarly-priced amp series perform as well as this? Thanks!

 

[ralph]

Anyone an idea how the NAD C356BEE compares to the tested one? In terms of SINAD and SNR?

 

[DWPress]

I owned a gob of NAD gear from the late 80's - early 2000's and most of it performed really well including some of the higher tier stuff. Great to see the tradition continue for entry level gear.

 

[Schlippwhip68]

Nice, affordable amp.

Just bought one, plenty to like about this amp. Paired with Wharfedale 12.2 and a Fiio K11 dac. Nice full, clear powerful sound. Running Spotify via FX Sound EQ App on the Windows 11 PC and I can't fault the sound quality. For £299 here in the UK its probably the best amp for the price new imo. The Cambridge Audio AXA35 is also a very nice amp but at £349 new and nowhere the power of the Nad. The new contender in this bracket for me is the new Rotel A8 at £399 but only 30wpc and I highly doubt it carries the sheer wallop that the Nad delivers which my Wharfedale 12.2 allows through very well indeed. I also have the SMSL AO-300 which is around £40 less than the Nad with more digital inputs and on paper twice the output power but in real-time comparison the Nad punches much heavier and gives more body to the music overall. The detail and precision of the SMSL is a little better but does not deliver the strength the Nad allows through. The Nad is an amp I can listen to all day easily.

 

[Steven Holt]

Just bought one, plenty to like about this amp. Paired with Wharfedale 12.2 and a Fiio K11 dac. Nice full, clear powerful sound. Running Spotify via FX Sound EQ App on the Windows 11 PC and I can't fault the sound quality. For £299 here in the UK its probably the best amp for the price new imo. The Cambridge Audio AXA35 is also a very nice amp but at £349 new and nowhere the power of the Nad. The new contender in this bracket for me is the new Rotel A8 at £399 but only 30wpc and I highly doubt it carries the sheer wallop that the Nad delivers which my Wharfedale 12.2 allows through very well indeed. I also have the SMSL AO-300 which is around £40 less than the Nad with more digital inputs and on paper twice the output power but in real-time comparison the Nad punches much heavier and gives more body to the music overall. The detail and precision of the SMSL is a little better but does not deliver the strength the Nad allows through. The Nad is an amp I can listen to all day easily.

I'm thinking about this one, too. Does the fact that it has no sub - out or pre - out bother you?

 

[caioferrari]

The result has become increasingly expected. Simple and no-frills amplifiers deliver excellent performance, while receivers and ‘digital’ amplifiers score poorly due to the low performance of the DAC or something similar. For me, this NAD has two flaws:


1. The lack of a subwoofer output (necessary when using small speakers)
2. Not being on my rack

 

[caioferrari]

I'm thinking about this one, too. Does the fact that it has no sub - out or pre - out bother you?

The lack of a subwoofer output will only be a problem if you intend to use one. For bookshelf speakers, the improvement with a subwoofer is noticeable, so this feature is welcomed. There are several integrated amplifiers that include the output: Marantz PM6007, Denon PMA800, Yamaha A-Sx01…

NAD itself includes the output in all its Class D models. Interestingly, the more powerful Class AB models, usually used with tower speakers with plenty of bass, features a subwoofer output.

 

[Schlippwhip68]

I'm thinking about this one, too. Does the fact that it has no sub - out or pre - out bother you?

Not with the Wharfedale 12.2. I have had those speakers from new for around 6 weeks now and the amp 2nd hand for around two weeks. The 12.2 have really matured in a relatively short time and sound excellent with the Nad. The bass is sublime, big, full, tuneful and digs deep, certainly no need for a sub. With two 6.5 inch cones adding a sub in a room my size would and has drowned the other frequencies. I am in a 5 x 5 x 3.5m (WxLxH) room. A sub for a room twice the size then maybe and I would then need a bigger amp for the headroom but this Nad though only 40wpc is seriously powerful even in the room I am in presently I would not push the amp past half way on the volume, especially with a dog in the room. It has some poke! It comes across with a lot more authority than my SMSL AO-300 which I use elsewhere with a pair of Cambridge Audio SL30 speakers. That's also a nice little system match, a very spacious sound, the speakers disappear a bit better than the 12.2. I picked the SL30 up on ebay for £35, they have a slightly better crossover than the standard S30 apparently but I only bought them for testing amps with so the extras were not a must but nice to have regardless. I think they belie their size those speakers, a very big open sound with surprisingly good bass but the 12.2 suit the Nad better imo for that relaxing comfort.

 

[Schlippwhip68]

I'm thinking about this one, too. Does the fact that it has no sub - out or pre - out bother you?

I would recommend pairing this with a good £300 speaker and forget the sub. WD 12.2, the new Elac Debut 3, Q Acoustic 3030i and the Cambridge Audio SX-60 are some fine examples and would not need a sub in a medium sized room of an average of 5 x 5 x 3.5m probably even slightly larger, I have plenty of window rattling power here. It’s not a fatiguing sound with the 12.2 either, it’s an all day listen, very easy on the ear.
I am also pleased with the Fiio K11. It has better bass than my Topping E50 and to be honest quite surprised with the K11 considering the price. I like Cirrus logic chips, I find them a little warmer and quite rich and Fiio have done well here with Cirrus chips and the K11, it also matches the Nad aesthetically with exactly the same curvature. It’s a pretty good all round system match. I also use 12 gauge biwire for the 12.2 speakers which I bought from eBay at a very good price, Western Electric Red Copper 12 gauge OCC.
The speakers are stood on AV.Com own brand 600mm steel stands also very good value for money. The Nads remote control is small and chunky with good buttons, very easy to use, comfortable in the hand and slips into the pocket nicely. Motorised volume control, much smoother and much more accurate than both my old Denon PMA600NE and Marantz PM6007. Very good build quality on the amp all round. The C316Bee V2 is definitely one of my favourite dance/party amps. I had a look inside the amp and it is very clean and well organised. All in all it is a good set up if you want to take the Mrs (if you're married) out for a Curry afterwards with the change and that's quite a chunk out of £1000 so you can treat her, if you go 2nd hand then you could take her to Paris!

 

[Steven Holt]

@Schlippwhip68 lovely pics and thank you! It's on my Short List.

 

[RoA]

This is another reminder as why no one should buy NAD products.

View attachment 385963 View attachment 385964

All planned obsolescence with placing C-tier capacitors next to hot heatsinks (knowing NAD there will be at least a few real hotspots on the PCB) and they are either stupid or just don't care and still drop a lot of voltage over resistors that will become very hot during use.
Seriously guys, this stuff is built to fail after warranty expires.

I believe it has been for sale for the last 6 years or so, longer for the predecessor. NAD are still selling this so perhaps it is not as unreliable as you think?

Good review here;

https://www.ecoustics.com/reviews/nad-c-316bee-v2-integrated-amplifier/

 

[Steven Holt]

Good review here;

Thanks for sharing, that IS a good review.

 

[Svend P]

Thanks for sharing, that IS a good review.

Why? A quick glance tells me it is the usual BS:

"The other reason to select the C 316BEE V2 is that its Class AB design sounds more robust and certainly warmer than any of the current network amplifiers from WiiM Audio, Arylic, or even Bluesound."

 

[Schlippwhip68]

I believe it has been for sale for the last 6 years or so, longer for the predecessor. NAD are still selling this so perhaps it is not as unreliable as you think?

Good review here;

https://www.ecoustics.com/reviews/nad-c-316bee-v2-integrated-amplifier/

It’s also more future proof than the AXA35 as that amp is predominantly chip based. Recapping the Nad is going to be far easier and realisticly probably wouldn’t need doing for around 15 years with normal use, that being an average of 5-10 hours a week max for myself. I had a 25 year old Teac AH-500i that sounds fine even after quarter of a century. That thing has two heat sinks each with a PCB almost mounted directly on in regards to space.

 

[Steven Holt]

Why? A quick glance tells me it is the usual BS:

"The other reason to select the C 316BEE V2 is that its Class AB design sounds more robust and certainly warmer than any of the current network amplifiers from WiiM Audio, Arylic, or even Bluesound."

Well yes, you are correct, the author did say that. I guess that I just liked the generally favorable review of this splendid little amp. It reminds me of my Advent 300 that I had many years ago.