Help, too bright

How long have you owned the NAD C320BEE?
It could be a break-in problem. I own the same integrated and have experienced the same brightness.
While the C 320BEE sounds nice with piano and female vocals, If I play pop or rock music, I find that I want to turn the music down. I’m hearing an over exaggeration of cymbals and snare drums -- too much pop/snap. Plus it's not sweet or liquid, it almost sound sibilant and tinny -- not smooth like everyone else is hearing. Right now I'm giving the amp a couple of months to break-in and changing my interconnects to Tara Labs and Audioquest. It could be that the 320BEE just doesn't work with my set-up or I'm expecting to much from a $400. integrated -- it's still a bargain though! I'll let you know soon of my results. Also my Uncle bought the NAD C 370 and had the same experience. He told me that it takes about 3 months to truly balance out!

Personally I feel that any audio or video system should have decent basic cabling to help reveal and allow your system to perform at it’s best. This also eliminates the chances of noise / interference invading your signal path.

I’m looking at used cables on Audiogon – total investment of $250.00, which is very a reasonable amount to spend in order to get proper shielding.

The last time I tried cheap interconnects (Radio shack or low end Monster) I was able to hear faint AM radio signals on my surround sound channels – really no joke! Of course when I moved the surround components to the other side of the room it disappeared – plus I ditched the 12 ft pair of cheap I.C.s (They cost me $6.95 at Radio shack.) When I spoke with the audio shop owner that sold me the surround processor, he agreed that it was probably an interconnect shielding problem.

I absolutely agree with you. Every manufacture has their own ideas of the perfect sound – and there’s tons of fantastic equipment on the used market at around 1/2 off. It’s soooo much fun to mix and match in order create your ultimate sound!

Just a follow-up about my NAD 320BEE amp and dealing with brightness, inspired by Jsujo's post. I returned the NAD and purchased a NEW MODEL Jolida 1501 (Four months old – Silver faceplate) used on Audiogon for $500.00. Wow!!! What a difference the Jolida made in my system. It is detailed without grain. It has huge amounts of natural bass, much more than the NAD. It is close in sound to my previous amp & preamp combo -- A Krell KSA 200s combined with a McIntosh preamp – What I was looking for in an integrated amp. This integrated will stay in my system for along time. Give the new silver Jolida 1501 a listen – I’ve heard it’s been upgraded quite a bit from the older Black & Gold model.