320bee and NHT SB-3's

I have sold many C320BEE/SB3 combos (magic $999 retail price). They work very well together. The NAD doesn't give out of juice on this relatively inefficent speaker.

Woodman's 1.5's (sweet speaker) are a more difficult load to drive. The 1.5's do sound wonderful with the C320BEE. Though i do have a small preferance for the 1.5's the SB3's are almost identical sonicly.

Should you ever decide you need a subwoofer the SB3's really do respond to 39hz which makes it much easier to incorporate a sub.

The SB3's have been discontinued recently but are still available. The replacement speaker is a three-way design. I have yet to hear the new one but have always liked two-way designs better than most three-way's. Grab the SB3's while you can.

The step up from the C320BEE really doesn't give you much more for $200 extra. Stick with the 320.

Good luck!

I have used the 320BEE with a pair of NHT 1.5s and was very satisfied.

The 320 is not really that power shy; isn't it 50wpc and then with NAD's emphasis on dynamic headroom?

Even so, without an axe to grind against the NHT, except for the fact that I personally don't like black speakers, I would look at the Response Audio modded Usher 520 in that price range.

(I have the C320BEE and an earlier NHT model.)

Sensitivity of the SB-3s is not high at 86dB but the NAD has a pretty good current reserve and shouldn't compress or clip too soon. The room is on the largish side but if you bring the speakers out from the back wall your chair may wind up close enough for nearfield listening, and that would likely give you volume even for high-energy orchestral passages. In other words, it doesn't look like a bad match right off the bat. Also, the amp and speakers are said to go well together (member Rar1 has good things to say about the amp with 85dB AR speakers) and both have been well reviewed.

If you want to be sure and are buying new, take your amp to the store and have them play the speakers with it.

If you are buying second hand, you can't be certain, but again, the signs are not bad. If you can't set the NHTs up to your liking, resale shouldn't be difficult.

Personally, I prefer the NHT sound--a bit forward and exciting in the mids-- to the PSBs I've heard and owned. The latter seemed to have their peaks higher up in the spectrum and I found this fatiguing over time.