Applause Award - stereonet
Recommended Component - Stereophile
Editors' Choice Award - The Absolute Sound Magazine
A Serious Entry-Level Integrated Amp
NAD's scene-stealing C 315BEE, an award-winning design that exceeded all expectations, has given rise to NAD's new C 316BEE integrated amplifier. The C 316BEE delivers improved power efficiency, a healthy dose of 'green' attributes, and serious musical performance. It offers entry-level affordability, and for many audiophiles there will never be a need for another amplifier.
Award-Winning Performance
Stereophile magazine honored the NAD by including it in its "Recommended Components" list for 2013. "The NAD matched power with grace, providing a rich, forceful overall presentation and an impressive ability to follow complex musical passages and make clear, truthful distinctions among music instruments," reported the magazine.
The Absolute Sound handed the NAD C 316BEE a Product of the Year Award and Editors' Choice Award for 2019, calling it "still the go-to amp for audiophile newbies who crave sonic neutrality, good power output, nice tactile feel, and NAD's characteristic quality-control."
"Applause Award" Honors
"I really liked the C 316BEE V2’s ability to organise musical detail smoothly and coherently. It sounded much better than the price may suggest, keeping its brand’s traditional virtues and maintaining the value for money promise," reports stereonet.com. which gave the NAD its Applause Award.
"Pair it with a decent entry-level turntable and some capable bookshelf speakers, and you’ve got the heart of a satisfying little budget system. In other words, after all these years, the C 316BEE V2 is a worthy product to carry on the company tradition."
Class-Leading Specifications
With class-leading specifications for noise, distortion, power, stereo separation and volume control tracking, the C 316BEE sets new benchmarks for performance, both measured and audible. The sonic result is a relaxed and inviting sound that digs out the subtle details in your favorite recordings and presents them across a panoramic stereo sound stage.
Continuous power is a conservative 40 watts and dynamic power, which is more important for music listening, is remarkably more than 100 watts! That means the C 316BEE delivers far more usable power on tap than other amps at this price point.
Innovative Twist on Proven Technology
NAD's Proprietary PowerDrive circuit offers a remarkable combination of high current drive needed for complex loudspeaker loads combined with high levels of undistorted dynamic power. Bjørn Erik Edvardsen, NAD's Director of Advanced Development, developed a simplified version of PowerDrive for the C 316BEE.
Budget-friendly Design
True to NAD's enviable reputation for creating some of the best performing budget amplifiers of all time, the C 316BEE delivers huge performance without the huge price tag. It has everything necessary for musical enjoyment, yet it is refreshingly limited to the essentials: six inputs, one set of speakers, a headphone jack and full function remote control.
Even though the C 316BEE embodies simplicity, it is far from a 'stripped down' product. It is fully equipped to be the control center for a high performance music system.
"I Could Not Be More Impressed"
"I could not be more impressed with the NAD C 316BEE V2 Integrated Amplifier," observes Ian White, ecoustics.com, December 12, 2024. "I own 6 different integrated amplifiers (from $350 to $6,000) and this is the one I listen to on a daily basis. Every loudspeaker below $2,000 that comes through this house has to spend time with it."
"The NAD C316 BEE offers everything you need around which to build a great budget hi-fi system," notes Jeff Dorgay, TONEaudio magazine. "It sounds good, fits nearly anywhere, and offers much better sound than what local big-box bandits sell for the same amount of money."
The 'Greening' of NAD Electronics
NAD takes its responsibilities to the planet very seriously by pursuing forward-thinking, environmentally aware manufacturing. The company imposes strict measures in all its product designs to eliminate environmentally hazardous materials and minimize power consumption. It uses lead free solder throughout manufacturing, and has re-designed its circuit board production to eliminate environmentally dangerous chemical compounds.
Many of NAD's newer designs use less than 1 watt of power in standby mode, and NAD's unique PowerDrive™ technology improves amplifier efficiency during playback.
"It Sounds Incredible"
"I recently picked up a C316 BEE and I love this little amp. It has much more power than I was expecting (I’m guessing the 350v transformer is responsible for that). The sound is brilliant; a touch on the warm/dark/romantic side, a pronounced midrange and great instrument texture and separation," observes Ninjalife27, audiokarma.org, April 20, 2023
"The phono stage is surprisingly good. At first when using the phono, I thought it was a bit on the quiet side. Then I remembered the tone controls. Engaged, turned the bass up to 2 o’clock and treble to 1 o’clock and it sounds incredible."
"I Was Immediately Impressed"
"Almost immediately after hooking it up, I was thoroughly impressed. The detail and separation was better than any of the previous amps. I finally had that audiophile moment and was hearing things I had not heard before," notes smscanla, r/BudgetAudiophile, reddit.com, February 16, 2019.
"I don’t feel the need to adjust the bass or treble because it always hit the right balance between vocals, details, separation, bass, etc."
