NAD Introduces Budget Reference Duo: Integrated Stereo Amplifier and CD Player

The C 315BEE Integrated Stereo Amplifier and C 515BEE CD Player are breakthrough performers in features, value and quality, members of a select category NAD thinks of as “budget reference” — an oxymoron in any other context. For both components, the NAD Design Team has successfully lowered the cost while retaining the features consumers most want, and the proprietary technology to deliver accurate, natural sounding musical performance.

C 315BEE Integrated Stereo Amplifier
The compact C 315BEE is every bit as refined and sophisticated as other NAD amplifiers, and fully equipped to serve as the control center for a high-performance music system. It continues the heritage of the world’s most highly acclaimed budget amplifier, the NAD 3020, of which over 2 million of it and its successors have been sold. Nearly 30 years later, a great many audiophiles and owners still fondly remember the 3020 Amplifier. Now, the NAD
C 315BEE is posed to become the new “budget reference integrated stereo amplifier.”

The C 315BEE delivers 40 watts of continuous power, conservatively rated, and, more important for music listening, an impressive 90 watts (into 8 ohms) of dynamic power across the entire audible band at a class-leading 0.02% distortion. This places far more usable power on tap than other similarly ?????d amplifiers.

The C 315BEE also features PowerDrive-S, a new, innovative, simplified version of NAD’s very successful PowerDrive technology, which combines high levels of dynamic power with very low distortion when driving difficult low-impedance loads. Devised by Bjorn Erik Edvardsen, NAD Director of Advanced Development, PowerDrive-S (for Simplicity) maximizes the available dynamic power while minimizing cost. This breakthrough allows unprecedented power and performance in a so-called budget amp — or in this instance, budget reference amp.

Additional hallmarks of NAD technology provided in the C 315BEE include a generously sized toroidal power transformer, low ESR smoothing capacitors, multiple regulated secondary supplies, and heavy-duty discrete output transistors. Further features include such essentials as bass and treble controls, defeatable tone controls, six line level inputs, a headphone jack, a front-panel input for portable MP3 players, multi-way speaker binding posts, and a full-function remote control.

C 515BEE CD Player
Compact and understated in appearance, the C 515BEE is a breakthrough in both performance and value, perfectly matching the equally compact C 315BEE Integrated Amplifier. Carefully engineered circuit layouts assure the least possible noise and distortion. Multiple regulated low-noise power supply circuits and individual circuit boards ensure the delicate digital audio circuitry is well isolated from motor and display demands. Analog and digital circuits have their own isolated supplies. Every element of the C 515BEE’s circuitry has been carefully selected — from the 24 bit/192kHz D/A converters, chosen for low noise and excellent linearity, to the audio-specific analog OP Amps, which assure accurate musical sound.

The C 515BEE possesses a complete roster of navigation and control functions, as well as more advanced features that appeal to serious music lovers. Repeat and Repeat A-B, for example, allow careful study of musical passages, making them favorite features of musicians. Users can easily custom program the C 515BEE to play only the desired tracks on a CD, or toggle through different display modes to show total playback time, time remaining, time per track, and any programmed function.

The C 515BEE also plays MP3 and WMA files, using the latest, best sounding decompression a??orithms. This allows playback of CD-Rs burned on a PC, with up to 10 hours of play on a single disc. NAD’s superb D/A conversion and analog amplification stages assure the maximum possible sound quality for compressed music files.

Additional features include an informative display, a dimmer for the display, coaxial and optical digital outputs, and a full-function remote control.

The C 315BEE Integrated Amplifier and C 515BEE CD Player are available now for suggested ?????s of $349 and $299 (U.S. MSRP), respectively. They can be seen with other outstanding NAD products in NAD’s Suite at the Hard Rock Hotel, during CES.