The C 375BEE is far more than a bigger C 355BEE — in fact, it is much closer in specs to the M3 Integrated Amplifier from NAD’s high end Masters Series. It also incorporates an updated version of NAD’s “Building Block” concept to make the addition of the PP375 phono module and other affordable future upgrades possible. Attention to the most minute detail is evident everywhere, from the heavy gauge steel chassis to the sophisticated power supplies and copper buss bars channeling almost absurd amounts of current to the custom gold plated speaker binding posts.

The C 375BEE boasts many upgrades and refinements taken directly from the highly acclaimed NAD Masters Series M3 Amplifier. These include application of Bjorn Erik Edvardsen’s innovative and patented Distortion Canceling Circuit in the output stage and BEE Clamp in the power supply. An improved tone control circuit and revised PCB layout has reduced distortion and noise to unprecedented levels. Taken together, these improvements mark a sharp upturn in performance that simply must be heard, to be fully appreciated!

Noise and distortion mask the fine details of a musical recording robbing musical texture and dimension and replacing them with non-musical artifacts. NAD has spent the last 35 years perfecting our designs to have the lowest distortion and highest power in its price class. This cannot be overstated! Our competitors often rate distortion at only 80% of rated power, and even then can’t match our very conservative spec of 0.008% at any frequency within the range of human hearing. Our noise spec is often 10dB (100 times!) less than that of competing amplifiers. This is far from a trivial difference as fine detail and nuance (micro dynamics) are often obscured by noise in lesser amplifiers, robbing a performance of that illusive sense of ‘realism’.

The C 375BEE also benefits from NAD’s proprietary PowerDrive™ circuit topology, now well established and used throughout the NAD product range. The PowerDrive™ topology allows the C 375BEE to deliver maximum performance under virtually any circumstance, independent of the loudspeakers it is driving. The circuitry automatically senses the impedance characteristics of the loudspeaker and will then adjust its power supply settings to best cope with that specific load. PowerDrive™ topology is a practical approach to enable an amplifier to easily deal with musical dynamics and difficult speaker loads.

Getting high dynamic power from the power supply to your loudspeaker requires a fast wideband amplifier stage rugged enough to pass and control high peak currents without premature protection intervening. The safe operating limit for the C 375BEE has 4 times the capacity of the typical amplifier in this price range by using 4 pairs of 220W output transistors per channel.

The C 375BEE has the lowest levels of distortion and noise available in its price class and is easily capable of embarrassing far more expensive products. To prove it NAD uses Full Disclosure Power (FDP), the most demanding criteria for performance measurement. FDP specifies distortion under the most extreme conditions of low impedance loads and frequency extremes rather than the simple and easy 1kHz @ 8 Ohms test quoted by many of our competitors. We use this stricter performance criteria because it more closely matches the demands of real music and real loudspeakers. Maintaining specified distortion at 4 Ohms and at 20Hz and 20kHz is several orders of magnitude more difficult to achieve than the simple 8 Ohms and 1kHz test.

Flexibility is another NAD strong point. The C 375BEE has 7 line inputs (including 2 tape in/outputs with dubbing facility) and the pre-amplifier section can be separated from the power amplifier for easy upgrades or adding ancillary equipment. Thus the C 375BEE can be expanded to meet future system needs. The C 375BEE sports pre-amp outputs: Many systems benefit from the use of multiple power amplifiers for “Bi-Amping” (using separate power amplifiers to drive the bass and treble section of a loudspeaker). The first Preamp Out includes a level trim control to allow matching of amps or speakers with different sensitivities. Additionally there is a second Preamp Out to connect to powered subwoofer, an increasingly popular option. Another option is to ‘bridge’ the C 375BEE and add the matching C 275BEE (identical except without the preamp and source switching) for one of the most powerful home audio systems you’ll ever encounter. Power goes from 150W x 2 to over 400W x 2!