Additionally, there are two monophonic Subwoofer OUT that can be connected
to powered subwoofers - an increasingly popular option.
For remote on/off switching of ancillary components in a system, such
as power amplifiers or active speakers, the C 326BEE is equipped with a
12V-trigger system. When switching the amplifier on, the 12V-trigger output is
also activated which in turn can activate a 12V-trigger input switching on the
remote devices. Besides the 12V-trigger, the C 326BEE also has rear panel IR IN
and OUT.
It is fashionable to omit tone controls nowadays: However, provided that the
tone controls are properly designed, they can be really useful tools in making
improvements to the overall sound. The C 326BEE tone controls only work
at the frequency extremes leaving the critical mid-band essentially unaltered.
The tone control circuits can be completely bypassed by using the Tone Defeat
control button. The C 326BEE also incorporates NAD’s acclaimed switchable
“Soft Clipping” circuit, which significantly reduces the risk of damage to
loudspeakers due to prolonged high power operation.
Design: PowerDrive
The C 326BEE also benefits from NAD’s proprietary PowerDrive circuit topology,
now well established and used throughout the NAD product range. The
PowerDrive topology allows the C 326BEE to deliver maximum performance
under virtually any circumstance, independent of the loudspeakers it is
driving. The circuitry automatically senses the impedance characteristics of the
loudspeaker and will then adjust its power supply settings to best cope with
that specific load. PowerDrive topology is a practical approach to enable an
amplifier to easily deal with musical dynamics and difficult speaker loads. Thus
we have the highly desirable characteristics of high dynamic power and low
impedance drive capability in one affordable package.
The C 326BEE has the lowest levels of distortion and noise available in its price
class and is easily capable of embarrassing far more expensive products. To
prove it, NAD uses Full Disclosure Power (FDP) - the most demanding criteria
for performance measurement. FDP specifies distortion under the most extreme
conditions of low impedance loads and frequency extremes rather than the
simple and easy 1kHz @ 8 Ohms test quoted by many of our competitors.
We use this stricter performance criterion because it more closely matches the
demands of real music and real loudspeakers. Maintaining specified distortion
at 4 Ohms and at 20Hz and 20kHz is several orders of magnitude more difficult
to achieve than the simple 8 Ohms and 1kHz test.
NAD also takes a stand against the meaningless “brochure power” touted by
many of our competitors by offering Full Disclosure power specs. We specify
minimum continuous power, across the entire audible range of frequencies, at
rated distortion, for both 8 and 4 Ohms with all channels driven simultaneously.
Perhaps even more importantly, we also specify Dynamic Power at 8, 4, and
even 2 Ohms, which better describes the way the amplifier will perform in the
real world, with musical signals and reactive loudspeaker loads.
Less Distortion = More Music
Noise and distortion mask the fine details of a musical recording robbing
musical texture and dimension and replacing them with non-musical artifacts.
NAD has spent the last 35 years perfecting our designs to have the lowest
distortion and highest power in its price class. This cannot be overstated! Our
competitors often rate distortion at only 80% of rated power, and even then
can’t match our very conservative spec of 0.009% at any frequency within the
range of human hearing. Our noise spec is often 10dB (100 times!) less than
that of competing amplifiers. This is far from a trivial difference as fine detail
and nuance (micro dynamics) are often obscured by noise in lesser amplifiers,
robbing a performance of that illusive sense of ‘realism’. It is that exciting
feeling of being there at the live performance.
But even the most carefully reported specs cannot fully describe the sonic
performance of an amplifier. Only your own ears can finally judge our
achievement. We urge you to listen and compare NAD to other products in its
price range, and even higher. We don’t think you’ll find anything that comes
close to offering the C 326BEE’s overall musical satisfaction, well-rounded
performance, and stellar value for money.
> D E T A I L S
