Cambridge Audio Azur 540A VS. NAD C320 BEE

[Geoffcin]

Hey Geoff,

You know, I'm actually not slamming them. I shipped it UPS ground and it had to go all the way from Cali to NY so that alone probably chewed up 5 days or so. Mike at AudioPlus warned me before I shipped it that it was vacation time so it would take a bit longer. Well, the boy wasn't lyin'. As of yesterday, they said they were scheduled to look at it in the next few days. Hopefully, I'll have it up and running in another week or so. I'll let you guys know.

Man, I never realized how horrible my computer speakers were until this happened

I think they are screwing you around already. If your dealer confermed that the unit was faultly, then the manufacturer should have authorized an immidiate replacment. If it's going to take another few weeks to get this sorted then they've really dropped the ball IMHO.

[topspeed]

Yeah, you're probably right. I guess because it's only used for my office rig, I just don't care that much. Most of the time I'm not even paying attention to the music anyway. Besides, Lord knows I've got bigger issues to deal with than a faulty amp.

[Uptown Audio]

We sell both Cambridge Audio and NAD products here. In response to the original poster's question, I find that his choice of amplifier was on the weak side. The Cambridge amps are fine, but they are not the last word in brute power, especially the smaller of the two. The small NAD amp, the C320BEE, has a nice, warm sound while still resolving details so it would have been a better choice at that level. For your particular speakers (another sore point IMO) I find that the NAD C352 would be the best choice. It is reasonably priced and is the best sounding of their integrated amplifiers, even the larger C372, IMO. It sounds like some of you have not had satisfactory experiences by choosing to buy products via mail, based upon review rather than to buy them locally after actually hearing them. The personal service and experience of buying from a competent local dealer would be well worth the "trouble" or "cost" considering what many of you have been through by avoiding it or simply "missing" it.

[noddin0ff]

Bill-

It would be a wonderful thing if everyone had access to a 'local' dealer that carried all makes and models. Mail order, however, is what many need to rely on to purchase components they desire, which is why forums and reviews are so important. I'm curious to know how you found the 320BEE and the 540A to compare. Frankly, I'm not interested in brute power. I'm more concerned with how the amps compare at low volumes. This seems to me to be a more demanding criteria. You say the BEE has a 'nice warm sound while still resolving details." That is pretty much exactly how I'd describe the 540A. You can read my review here at
http://www.audioreview.com/Integrate...7_2717crx.aspx

A lot of posters in this thread (and other threads) have described the sound of each component but few have been able to set up a blind A/B comparison with similar sources and speakers. It would be good to hear a complete informed review of how they compare. If you do post one, I would think it deserved a new thread since many have asked for this comparison.

noddin0ff