Amp/Preamp Asylum: REVIEW: NAD 325BEE Integrated Amplifier (SS) by boland7214@aol.com

Model:	325BEE
Category:	Integrated Amplifier (SS)
Suggested Retail Price:	$399.00
Description:	Integrated Amplifier
Manufacturer URL:	NAD
Manufacturer URL:	NAD

Review by boland7214@aol.com ( A ) on April 02, 2007 at 14:17:57
IP Address: 207.200.116.66

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for the 325BEE

I'm not a professional reviewer and I am somewhat of an "audio skeptic" when it comes to "sound" and "music". I own a CAT Pre-amp and have had Conrad Johnson and Quad UK Power Amps. In Stereophile Magazine April 2007 issue on page 9-10 there is a letter entitled: "Mad at the magazine" by a Ben Causey. What he states in that letter is that he has spent a lot of money buying "audiophile" amps and pre-amps and integrated amps over many years and, after reading an article at www.TheAudioCritic he tested some expensive amps against some "ordinary" amps and he found "no difference" in the sound. "I can't describe the amount of anger and self-loathing I felt when I heard the Onkyo sound exactly the same as the Unico.", he wrote. Then, in the same issue there's a rebuttal by John Atkinson on page 3.

I've been looking for a "good" integrated amp for a couple of years. I just sold a Quad 909 and was in the market for a "really good" integrated or at least a "really good" power amp to go with my CAT Pre-amp. I looked at Audio Research VS55, at Creek 5350se and Destiny, The Sun VS 3a5 Tube Mini-amp, Unison, Pathos, Prima Luma, Musical Fidelity, Arcam, Jeff Rowland,Exposure, and many others. All these cost BIG BUCKS...more or less. Then I read a review of The Cambridge 540 v2 and 640 v2 in The Absolute Sound. But, these didn't have the capability to separate the pre-amp from the power amp. I wanted an integrated, if I were to "go cheap" that had the capability to use an outboard pre-amp with the power amp and vice versa. The only one I could find was The NAD 325BEE. So, I bought one for about $325 plus $12 shipping from a company on The East Coast (if you email me I'll give you their name and phone number). I received the NAD 325BEE about a week ago. And, the sound is VERY good! Imaging, soundstageing, "palpable presence", realistic timbre, are "very good".

I played around with different speaker cables. I tried Kimber 8TC and that sounded better than the Kimber 4TC. I tried difference interconnects including Synergistic Research Active 2x, Kimber Hero, and others. What I found is that, as we all know, the interconnects and cables had a BIG effect on improving the sound. "Use good cables and interconnects and you have a chance to have 'good sound'. Use 'bad wire' and the sound will sound 'bad' or 'cheap'". I disconvered that a modest integrated amp like The NAD 525BEE WILL SOUND VERY GOOD with "good cables and interconnects." Dah!!!...we all knew that...right? And, of course, ANY amp or pre-amp or integrated amp will sound "better" with audiophile quality CD's or Lp's. So, ANY amp, expensive or not, is "at the mercy" of what is fed through it. If you are like me and like to listen to ALL qualities of CD's--even some that were not recorded too well----then why get expensive gear in the first place? "Garbage in---garbage out"...regardless of how expensive or "good" are your electronics.

But, then the question arises: "Is it worth 'big bucks' to get expensive electronics when a product like the NAD 325BEE integrated amp will give you about 90-95% of what you'd get with expensive electronics? Well, only you can answer that for youself. What I found was that I could get about 90-95% of "good sound" and "satisfying sound" from a product like The NAD 325BEE for about $337 with shipping. I concluded NOT to purchase the expensive stuff and just relax and enjoy the beautiful music coming out of my PSB Image T45 speakers from my NAD 325BEE SS integrated!

I write the above because MANY of us are continually searching for "audio Nirvana" and "the perfect amp" that "has it all"....imaging, palpable presence, correct timbre, tight bass, extended highs...etc..etc...And, VERY FEW, if any, electronics "do it all". So, it's a never ending search which cost alot of time and money! What I'm saying is, "get off the quest" which is "an impossible quest" and buy something like The NAD 325BEE (or Cambridge 640 v2 if you don't need to separate the power amp from the pre-amp). And, "the clincher" for me was this: the designer of The NAD had the foresight to include an INPUT for Mp3 players and computers. What that input allows you to do is to hook up your computer to your audio system and play music FROM any radio station which can be accessed online through your equipment and audiophile speakers. This is much better than FM radio because there are no static or reception problems. Right now, having AOL XM Radio, I am listening to beautiful music coming from my computer to my audio system. This helps me expand my knowledge of music so I can hear music other than only the CD's that I have bought.

What I am suggesting is that if you A-B'd your expensive electronics with something like The NAD 325BEE you also would find "little difference" other than very subtle ones. And, if you found this to be true, then you could SAVE alot of bread (money) that you could use to send the kid to college or buy food for the family or take the family to Paris or give to the poor or have some other good use for the money you'd save. And, if what I write seems true or you find it to be true after comparing the expensive vs the cheap stuff, if you find that I and Mr Causey are correct, you can RELAX and enjoy the music and have a much more peaceful time! If you agree with the above or disagree please let me know. Thanks, John Boland boland7214@aol.com

Product Weakness: None for the price.
Product Strengths: Timbral accuracy, palpable presence, Mp3 input.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	NAD 325BEE
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	CAT SL-1 Reference Mk II
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Adcom CD575
Speakers:	PSB Image T45
Cables/Interconnects:	Kimber, Synergistic Research
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classical, Opera, Folk, Jazz
Room Size (LxWxH):	12 x 12 x 10
Room Comments/Treatments:	none
Time Period/Length of Audition:	1 week
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition):	n/a

Product Weakness:	None for the price.
Product Strengths:	Timbral accuracy, palpable presence, Mp3 input.