CREATING A NEW BUDGET REFERENCE
NAD has an enviable reputation for creating some of the best performing budget amplifiers of all time.
The lineage is impressive, all the way from the 3020 of 1978 to the current C325BEE, with many “Best
Amp” awards and 5 Star reviews along the way. As loudspeaker quality and performance has continued to
improve, especially at modest price points, NAD felt that there was room for a lower cost amp that could
take advantage of these speakers; creating a new entry point for serious musical performance.
The NAD Design Team faced a difficult challenge: to maintain the same performance specification as our
more expensive amplifiers while removing cost. Cost is usually removed by reducing features, power, and
performance. While not quite as full featured as our own C325BEE, the C315BEE is far from a “stripped
down” product. With 6 line level inputs, full IR remote control, defeatable tone controls and a front panel input
for a portable MP3 player, the C315BEE is fully equipped to be the control center for a high performance
music system. Continuous power is a conservative 40 watts, and dynamic power (more important for music
listening) is impressively rated at 90 watts into 8 Ohms! This is far more usable power on tap than other
amps at this price. And this power is available across the entire audible band at a class leading 0.02% rated
distortion!
PROVEN TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED BY INNOVATION
NAD’s PowerDrive™ Circuit has been proven to offer a remarkable combination of high current drive needed
for complex loudspeaker loads combined with high levels of undistorted dynamic power. By monitoring
the precise operating condition of the power amplifier, PowerDrive uses this intelligence to automatically
optimize the power supply settings for uniformly low distortion and maximum power in the real world of music
listening. As featured in our top Masters Series models M3 and M25, PowerDrive uses a complex ‘analog
computer’ to determine the optimal settings. For the C315BEE, NAD’s Director of Advanced Development,
Bjorn Erik Edvardsen, developed a clever new computation circuit (PowerDrive-S) requiring fewer parts at
a much lower cost without any reduction in effectiveness (although this invention is limited to use in lower
power amplifiers).
All the hallmarks of NAD technology are present, from the generously sized toroidal power transformer
and low ESR smoothing capacitors, to the multiple regulated secondary supplies, to the heavy duty discrete
output transistors, the C315BEE is every bit as refined and sophisticated as other NAD amplifiers.
SIMPLICITY
While the C315BEE has everything necessary for musical enjoyment, it is refreshingly limited to the
essentials: six inputs, one set of speakers, a headphone jack and full function remote control. It has a
compact size and a handsome yet understated exterior. It is essential NAD.
C 315BEE Integrated Amplifier
• Continuous Power - 2 X 40 Watts into 4 or 8 Ohms, 20Hz –
20kHz at 0.02%THD
• Dynamic Power - 90W into 8 Ohms, 120W into 4 Ohms,
180W into 2 Ohms
• PowerDrive-S™
• 6 Line Level Inputs including 1 Tape Loop
• Front Panel Input for Portable Media Player
• Bass and Treble Controls
• Tone Defeat (Bypass)
• Headphone Output
• System Remote Control also controls NAD CD Players
• Multi-way Speaker Binding Posts
• Gold Plated RCA Jacks
• Toroidal Power Transformer
Features
Details