New NAD 326 BEE Owner -Disappointed Help

Magfan...the B&W DM602 S3s are a relatively easy load and of sufficient high sensitivity that the NAD 326 ought to easily drive them.

John...I would give the 326BEE at least a few hundred hours of break-in and see where its sonics settle out at. I also think Sandstone's recommendations are all very good. Check phase, speaker positioning, etc... after the break-in period and make sure you are optimizing as much as you can before considering changing amps. Good luck.

sobeit.
I've heard some claim that the B&W line can be difficult to drive. The 600s? I've never seen actual measured data, though if it exists, Stereophile has it.

The other issue is NAD / B&W which doesn't do much for me.....that is a matter of taste, though I think Rotel is under the same corporate umbrella and would be at least a reasonable amp to test with the 600 series B&Ws.

And, finally, the one I hadn't thought of. Are the speakers wired out of phase?
I like the setup suggestions, too. Throwing more power at it? Nah, the NAD is pretty robust and has good dynamic power, which is what music needs.

I'd like to hear the resolution of this one......

I have been thinking about the tonal balance of my system with the 326 and 300ti speakers (which I told you before is on the warm side) however, I use old Tera IC which are warm and the speaker wire is White Lightning DIY which is warm as well.

When listening to my Sansui tuner the sound is very big, intimate and soft but with my Muse CD player it is far more extended and detailed though with some recordings can be a bit aggressive, not lacking bass but forward in overall balance.

It just got me to thinking about the old bugaboo - system matching and how a few things can make the sound lacking in one way or another. I am listening right now to Coltrane Blue Train and the mids and high end are very detailed with nice bite but the bass is a bit light even with the warm wire in my system.

I just thought I would give you a bit more to chew on.

Overall I am pretty blown away with the 326 BEE and have been thinking about it lately while listening.

good luck and enjoy!

OK, Shine - I'll give you a different viewpoint. I owned the C325BEE for a couple of months in my mid-fi second system and my conclusion is that this integrated basically s***s: it's grainy and underpowered relative to the NAD published stats and isn't good tonally, either. (It is an example of a thoroughly overhyped component, IMHO.) Keep in mind that I had realistic expectations for this unit and compared it to an equivalently-priced Rotel unit which was comprehensively better.

You're getting a lot of advice about adjustments and burn-in. I think you are listening carefully and hearing the shortcomings of a deficient integrated.

Jult,
John posted his first new topic on Agon, after finding that a current model of his amp's line sounded much worse to his liking than a much older version, after only 15 hours or less of burn-in.

"this integrated basically s***s"
Interesting, in that it's one of the more popular amps out there. Paul Seydor at TAS and many on this thread would disagree with you.

http://nadelectronics.com/reviews/TAS-Reviews-the-C-326BEE-and-C-545BEE

John,
IMO, it's a good enough unit to take the time burning it in, dialing it in (esp. for better bass response), and finding out if there's a unit defect before then evaluating and deciding for yourself.
-Even if you eventually decide to move on. It's likely that no matter what you do, it will still be more revealing and tonally neutral than your older unit.

The point is, if one doesn't go through the drill to troubleshoot and integrate new components properly into a system each time, you never really know for sure what you've missed. I usually seem to learn something new, and for me it's also a good antidote to the time and expense of "component roulette" that is sometimes contagious on the boards.