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NAD C350 and Paradigm Mini Monitors

This is the combo I'm thinking of getting, and it's a pretty reasonable price. I tried to find the Minis on eBay but came up with nothing, and the Audiogon didn't have anything. The store near me has them for $350, do you know of a better deal?

Most importantly, will the combo be good? In the store I went to the man I was talking to said that the speakers were only using a few watts, and it was pretty loud. I read a review though where some guy said that you need an 80+ watt amp. I think the 80+ watt thing is BS, but can someone confirm this please? I know the NAD C350 has a rating of about 60W per channel, but dynamically it can put out a lot more. I'm hoping this will be plenty of power for the Minis.

My next question would be, since the speakers are rated up to 100W but the C350 will put out over 100W dynamically (during peaks right?) would this hurt the speakers in any way? Also, on the other end of the spectrum, does anybody know if the C350 will play a very low volumes? I think I heard somewhere that it would go into standby at certain low volumes? I don't always like to play music at volumes that will fill the room, so this is a big concern for me. I heard these speakers and the guy at the shop said they were pretty sensitive, so I'm thinking they'll work pretty well at low volumes
jcdem
ilkwon88
8 posts
 
I had the combo a whlie ago. They are okay, but not great. IMHO, you should be able to do much better than Paradigm Mini Monitors, if you can spend at least $500 on the speakers (possibly used). Trust me, the extra $150-200 is very worthwhile. Visit www.audioasylum.com and ask for good inexpensive speakers. They should be able to give more concrete suggestions.

For your other questions: $350 for mini monitor v2. is about the best deal. You can do $20-$30 better, but that's about it. Version 1 goes around $200-$250, however.
Unless you have hearing problem, you will never pass 12 o'clock of the volume control of C350. And you will never hear 100W volume. So don't worry.
bomarc
501 posts
 
Don't get hung up on numbers: A 60-watt amp will do just fine with these speakers, and with most speakers in the price class you're looking at. (That doesn't mean you can get away without auditioning things, because every once in a while a speaker comes a long that's a lot less efficient than the spec sheet would indicate.)

According to my reference, $350 is list price for the minis, however. Especially if you're buying speakers and amp together, I'd ask for a break--maybe 10% off on the combo.

I'll also second Ilkwon's advice to think about putting a little more money into speakers. If money's tight, consider a lesser amp. I helped a young friend put together a starter system recently. I don't recall exactly what he got, but he found a 2-channel receiver at J&R for next to nothing that sounded just fine with whatever PSB model he chose. (Only caveat: stick to well-established brands if you go the Japanese receiver route. There is some junk out there.)
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