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 centre for a high performance music system. Continuous power is a conservative 40 watts, and dynamic power (more important for music listening) is impressively more than 100 watts! 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 0.03%! 

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 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.

VALUE 

We are confident that the C315BEE will set new benchmarks for performance, both measured and audible, at this affordable price point. Unless you have power hungry speakers, listen at dangerously loud levels, or have a very large room, the C315BEE is likely to be all the amplifier you’ll ever need. Fundamental specifications for noise, distortion, power, stereo separation, and volume control tracking, are all class leading. Slightly more esoteric measurements like transient intermodulation distortion, dynamic crossover-notch distortion, power supply rejection and square wave rise time would be impressive on an amplifier costing many times its modest price. 

The sonic result of this high technology is a relaxed and inviting sound that digs out the subtle details in your favourite recordings and presents them across a panoramic stereo sound stage. The impressive dynamic power reserves make the C315BEE sound both articulate and alive. The silent background and low distortion gives a sense of solidity and presence to your music and brings out the best your loudspeakers have to offer.

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