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Which NAD C amp for Heresy III's?


ironman

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Yesterday I finally pulled the trigger on a pair of Heresy III's, and now I am in search of a good stereo amp to drive them.  I think I have it narrowed down to the NAD C368 and its big brother the NAD C388...

 

NAD C368:   80 Watts RMS per channel

                       Total Harmonic Distortion 0.03%

 

NAD C388:   150 Watts RMS per channel

                       Total Harmonic Distortion 0.009%

 

In all other respects (other than physical size and price), the two amps are identical.  I live in a small condominium, and have no need (or desire) to play music at high volumes.  I am interested in sound quality at low to moderate volumes.

 

Which amp is the better choice?

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Truthfully I think the C368 will be more than enough.  I am driving my Heresy IIs with a 75w/ch Cambridge Audio 640A V2 integrated in my master bedroom and they sure thump with authority.

Of course it is nice to have the headroom but I bet the C368 will do just fine.

One thing also you can consider is that the C368 has stereo preouts if you felt you "needed" more power in the future.  Quality wattage is cheap on the used market.

 

Bill

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At the risk of offending someone... I would go big, or go home. If that is an option.

 

There is no replacement for displacement. 

 

You may not ever turn the volume past 9 o’clock, but the woofers will know what to do with the extra horsepower. Tight and deep.

 

I have owned half a dozen lesser NAD amps over the years. NONE of them sounded as good as the one(s) I kept.

 

Currently running a C372 at 150 watts a side. I used to have a couple of them bridged. 

 

Got a “tester” amp, a Harman Kardon Citation 22 at 200 watts a side. 

 

At about the 50 watt LED it pounds! My Heresy II’s sound even better on it! Leaking caps and all...I can smell them as I type this! Lol

 

 

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5 minutes ago, willland said:

One thing also you can consider is that the C368 has stereo preouts if you felt you "needed" more power in the future.  Quality wattage is cheap on the used market.

 

Would connecting an additional amp via the preouts add to the C368's 80 watts, or would it replace them?

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8 minutes ago, geoff. said:

There is no replacement for displacement. 

 

You may not ever turn the volume past 9 o’clock, but the woofers will know what to do with the extra horsepower. Tight and deep.

 

I have owned half a dozen lesser NAD amps over the years. NONE of them sounded as good as the one(s) I kept.

 

 

So do you think the C388 would sound better than the C368, at the same volume?

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I do.

 

I may even go back to bridging my C372’s.

 

I had the 120 watt version of the C372 years ago, the C370.

 

Sold it to a guy who had the 80 watt version, the C352. 

 

He texted me a week later to tell me how much better the bass was on his PSB Image something-or-rathers...! Image 5t’s maybe?

 

 

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7 minutes ago, geoff. said:

I do.

 

I may even go back to bridging my C372’s.

 

I had the 120 watt version of the C372 years ago, the C370.

 

Sold it to a guy who had the 80 watt version, the C352. 

 

He texted me a week later to tell me how much better the bass was on his PSB Image something-or-rathers...! Image 5t’s maybe?

 

 

 

I guess that is a definite plus, considering that I also keep reading that the Heresy III's are light on bass.  But since the C388 costs $700 more than the C368, I have to decide if that better sound is worth that much.

 

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I don’t own, nor have I ever heard Heresy 3’s.

 

I do own Heresy 2’s, again! They were so nice I bought them twice! lol

 

Most amazing “small” speaker I have ever heard.

 

I am amazed at the quality of bass from the Heresy 2’s. 

 

And the Hersey 3’s are supposed to be better!

 

You could spend the difference on a sub?

 

But,

 

...you will always wonder what you are missing if you don’t... Who said that?!

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10 minutes ago, geoff. said:

I don’t own, nor have I ever heard Heresy 3’s.

 

I do own Heresy 2’s, again! They were so nice I bought them twice! lol

 

Most amazing “small” speaker I have ever heard.

 

I am amazed at the quality of bass from the Heresy 2’s.

 

 

What amp (and power) do you use to drive your Heresy 2's?

 

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1 hour ago, ironman said:

I think I have it narrowed down to the NAD C368 and its big brother the NAD C388...

Think you will be just fine with the C368.  Have 3 heresy's on an Onkyo RZ810 AVR .... supposedly 130W/ch but if you read the fine print it's probably a lot less than 80W/ch. Still sounds very, very good.  But ... if you are using it just for 2 channel music I would recommend a vintage McIntosh or Marantz :D (Using a Marantz 2252B - only 52W/ch on KPT-904's and it's AWESOME.)

Cheers, Emile

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50 minutes ago, ironman said:

 

Would connecting an additional amp via the preouts add to the C368's 80 watts, or would it replace them?

It would replace.  If you were to hook up say a 200w/channel stereo amp, you would only be using the C368's preamp section and bypassing it's amp section.

 

1 hour ago, geoff. said:

At the risk of offending someone... I would go big, or go home. If that is an option.

 

There is no replacement for displacement. 

No offense here and I get what you are saying.  I am all about more/better wattage.   Hence me always suggesting outboard amplification with a multichannel system in a medium to large room.  With that said, a quality amp with 80w/ch will rock Heresys to no end. 

 

Bill

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56 minutes ago, ironman said:

Would connecting an additional amp via the preouts add to the C368's 80 watts, or would it replace them?

No "addition."  The C368 would be "just" a pre-amp.  Watts per channel will be determined by the main power amp.

Cheers, Emile

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I drive my Heresy's III with an integrated  MP-501 MK-V Tube amp ( kt-120's, 55wpc) and their is NO substitute to that beautiful silky sound of tubes with all heritage Klipsch speakers. ....

I have tried many excellent SS amps, 100-300 wps, and that sound was never the same.

 

Go tube ironman ! 

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11 minutes ago, pallpoul said:

I drive my Heresy's III with an integrated  MP-501 MK-V Tube amp ( kt-120's, 55wpc) and their is NO substitute to that beautiful silky sound of tubes with all heritage Klipsch speakers. ....

I have tried many excellent SS amps, 100-300 wps, and that sound was never the same.

 

Go tube ironman ! 

 

I would, except that I really want the ability to play music from iTunes, and the C368 has optical inputs, built in Bluetooth and the ability to add wifi connectivity.  Maybe at some point I can use the preouts on the C368 to add a tube amp to drive my Heresy's.

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27 minutes ago, ironman said:

 

I would, except that I really want the ability to play music from iTunes, and the C368 has optical inputs, built in Bluetooth and the ability to add wifi connectivity.  Maybe at some point I can use the preouts on the C368 to add a tube amp to drive my Heresy's.

Ironman, get separate pre amp with all the digital inputs, bell's and wifi/bluetooth whistles you want/need, then use the tube amp/integrated amp, behind it. Your ears will thank you later.

 

It has been my experience with all Heritage Klipsch speakers that tubes, is the best way to go, seems to me this line was made for tubes.

 

I also use a Cary Audio CAD-120s MK II tube amp with my La Scala II's, and to my ears: It sounds so much better then many high end SS amplifiers, costing 1 to 5 k, I have tried, although it is rated at lower wpc. I also use the Cary Audio DAC and Pre-Amp. (DAC 200ts & SL-100) in the same setting.   

 

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28 minutes ago, pallpoul said:

Ironman, get separate pre amp with all the digital inputs, bell's and wifi/bluetooth whistles you want/need, then use the tube amp/integrated amp, behind it. Your ears will thank you later.

 

It has been my experience with all Heritage Klipsch speakers that tubes, is the best way to go, seems to me this line was made for tubes.

 

I also use a Cary Audio CAD-120s MK II tube amp with my La Scala II's, and to my ears: It sounds so much better then many high end SS amplifiers, costing 1 to 5 k, I have tried, although it is rated at lower wpc. I also use the Cary Audio DAC and Pre-Amp. (DAC 200ts & SL-100) in the same setting.   

 

 

The truth is that is likely WAY beyond what I can spend right now.  But I can afford the C368 now, and maybe later I can get a tube amp and use the C368 as my DAC/pre-amp.

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