Yesterday the right channel on my NAD C356 went bad just three months after the warranty expired. 75% of the sound shifted to the left. Just out of curiosity, did anyone had a similar problem? I contacted an authorized service center
and their estimate was $400.00???
I WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING MADE BY NAD. GARBAGE BELONGS TO GARBAGE. Anyhow, on Monday I will order Accuphase E-270 to put the end to the search for an Integrated amplifier.
Today I will be listening to my 36 year-old NAD 2150 that sits in my garage year-round, through 80/90 degree summer days and sometimes single-digit winter days, has never needed repair, and still sounds great on a pair of larg'ish outdoor speakers. I guess they don't make em like they used to. I suspect you will really like the Accuphase. Happy 4th.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I had considered the M17, but the old tongue in cheek poke at NAD, just always stuck in the back of my mind. I realize that your experience may be a "rare" case, but reading it steers me away even more.
I do not think you should call nad junk because one unit went bad, in my almost 45 years buying high end i have had more then one high end unit that went bad n i am talking well above nad.
I THINK THAT I SHOULD. In past five years three "units" broke down: C275, C356 x 2. and always few months after warranty expired.
I'm listening music on a very moderate levels. How should I call it, by accident?
m-db, nad is very ignorant. I did E-mail the nad and placed two calls and so far nothing.
Contacting NAD about your unit is a good idea. There's always going to be some premature failure rate in almost any product. You just got a bad one, that's all. I wouldn't condemn the entire company over one bad unit.
With 3 amps dying on you, something must be wrong in your system, or house wiring.
What ohm rating do your speakers have? Do they have a phase angle? Did you buy brand new Nad each time or factory refurbs? What specific volume level position do you use? And for how many hours at a time?
It just seems strange to me. I’ve owned 5 Nad integrated amps. 2 C326BEE, one c372, one C375BEE and one C356BEE. And a top of the line cd player, the C565BEE. Three were used. Two were refurbs, and one was brand new. I’ve only owned each for a year or so, but I’ve not had one failure. Now, could I be extremely lucky, and Nad is actually awful, or much more likely, Nad has been around for over 40 years for a good reason, and something else is going on. Still, your experience sucks, and I can understand wanting to stay away from Nad.
PS, the $400 estimate over the phone from the service center, is useless since they don’t really know what the problem with the C356BEE is. It could be more, but most likely a lot less.
These are not rare cases, this has plagued NAD for the past few years, something to do with quality control. If you buy anything from them its hit or miss. This is very unfortunate situation since they make very good sounding units.
Same here with a 315bee integrated. Good sound for the money, but built with components so cheap and assembled so badly that it did not last much longer than a year. The entire pre-amp was totally shorted, inputs, volume control, etc... in a more than caring environment. So for me, never NAD again. In addition, the new classic line hybrid digital have not been well received by reviewers. imho, NAD is not going stay one the market much longer. They have made the wrong choices when it come to quality control and designs.
I would disagree with schubert "troublesome brand since day one.'. I'm with mitch2. I bought my NAD 3130 in 1984/1985. Still have it. Used it in multiple systems, and my oldest daughter used it in college and her first year of marriage, and now it's back with me. Only problem now is some noisy controls. Will probably have these cleaned. Great little amp with lasting quality. Sounds like that's not the case for NAD these days, but I certainly can't fault my 33-yr-old for quality.
After owning some of the older units from the late eighties and nineties, I don't think this gear can be categorized as problematic they are pretty much bullet proof.
If there products are so bad, then why have they stayed in business since 1972? Don McLean's "American Pie" was a hit that year -- it's a long time ago. All these years of putting out crappy products and still going strong? Something doesn't add up.
It depends on which NAD era we're talking about. My 7225PE I bought in 1991 has been used, abused, played at beer parties outside in the freezing cold, and left powered continuously on for one 10-year stretch...not one hiccup and it still rocks. However, I do know that others have had issues with the T-series (one tech I met said they refused to even work on them they were so bad), and the 150W BEE amp had a design flaw that caused enough the parts to melt. Not fair to say the whole brand is bad, though.
bojack, not sure if you're thinking of the C372/272, but the first run of those had white power caps, which turned to be troublesome. I know this because after I bought my C372 I found out about this and panicked. But mine had the better black caps and it was rock solid.
As is the C375BEE, as was the C326BEE before it. The C372 retailed for around 900, and the C375BEE was about 1500, so completely different animals and it shows on the better quality parts used on the inside.
People that have any brand amp failures tend to be the ones willing to search out a forum and comment, not the 90%+ that never have an issue.
bojak, I have mutual respect for you and that old NAD amplifier that has endured abuse, beer parties, etc, and no doubt played some very good tunes from that era. Your going to have to handle that baby with some tender loving care.
BTW, the OP mentioned he’s going to order an Accuphase E-270. That integrated amp, as far as I can tell, is a gem that sells for around $4500. With that kind of budget many excellent IA would be options, but the Accuphase is certainly one of them.
Interesting that the Nad C356BEE goes for around $750 new. Quite the budget increase! I asked the OP earlier which speakers he was using, now I'm more curious because the
Accuphase E-270 might be too much if they are a small bookshelf.
"blue cap" C272 and it is a very nice sounding solid state amp with gobs of power and dynamics, never a glitch. c356 year and a half and no issues except the power led flickers. not happy with the sound of the C356 though.
Yes, It's quite a step up but what else to buy. I tried Parasound Halo and it just didn't sound right. C356 with the right Pre/Amp interconnects sounded better then Halo or I just like the nad sound despite the reliability. Another option is Belles Aria Integrated but I am not familiar with the Aria's sound. If it has Nad's dynamic I would buy Aria right away. And yes, I have PSB Synchrony One B bookshelf speaker that I really like. I listened the PSB with the Accuphase E-470 and that was it. Just perfect sound. I just hope that E-270 has similar sonic signature as the E-470. My friend who owns the Accuphase told me that E-470 besides the more power has more 3D sound but the E-270 already provide very nice sound and that I would notice the difference in sound only with the high end speakers.
What I can find on the PSB Synchrony One bookshelf is that it is a 4 ohm speaker that dips to below 3 ohms at some frequencies. I'm sure it'll be fine with the Accuphase.
Maybe use a credit card,so you get an extended warranty.Most credit cards add 1 year to manufacturer's warranty and some add 2 years.So,you could have had a 3 year warranty.Maybe next time.$400 is crazy for that repair.I would say about $75 max.That's what I would charge and still make good profit.
I've found NAD to be Not Always Dependable. My T758 was bought as a refurbished, and 6 months out of warranty the DSP portion of the AM100 module failed. Thankfully my dealer had a used trade-in AM100 from a customer who updated to a newer version, and I got it a lot cheaper than the $400 price of a new one. To put $400 into a 1-1/2 year old $700 receiver would be a non-starter for me. I don't really trust this unit, but I'm stuck with it for a while.
I purchased a 3020 NAD in 1979. It has moved across the country several times, lost a button, has a cracked faceplate and sits in my garage -- it works flawlessly. It has never failed. It is regretful if newer NAD equipment has problems.
Contact your dealer where you bought it from. Let he make an offer of service for you. I think it will work. Electronics die within one year is not normal.
Everything breaks. Most items are programmed to puke within a week after warranty expires. They gotta have some kinda micro chip, they've been installing since the late 60's. At 71 years old, i've simply lost "the count" of things that have broken down on me. Six figure sports cars are definitely one that's bitten me.... more than once. Boats "outboard motors" are the latest. Swapped out 3 older Mercs for 3 of the new Yamaha
Four Stroke V8 5.3L at $30,000+ each. Two of them have seen 3 trips already for some this and that. In my garage sits a NAD 30-- purchased late 60 to early 70's. {salty air} Never once have that pre/amp not performed once powered up. That amp's powered a dozen pair of speakers through the years. And I expect they'll continue for years to come. Calling something garbage simply because it failed, just don't fly anymore. The simple fact that everything breaks or fails is something you better get used to. [and to be able to suck it up and move on]
Like many othef companies, NAD is made by the lowest bidder. PRODUCTION IS RUSHED TO TBE POINT MISTAKES ARE MADE. When I decided to but a second amp, I bought the 100 wpc 2200 PE. it seemed to have no distortion or coloration, but smeared all the instruments together as one. When it quit, my local Mac warranty repair guru, Terry Wyrick, told me there are two times people get excited about NAD, THE DAY YOU Buy IT,AND TBE DAY YOU GeT RID OF IT.
I am just curious, how would you call 3 amplifiers from the same manufacturer that failed a couple of months after the warranty expired. I call it disposal electronics. I mentioned C275 and two C356's, but I forgot to mention M3 on which display went dead (but it did work). Five years ago I paid $300.00 for the repair (replacement). The nad is relatively cheap compared to the other manufacturer and it has decent sound with the right interconnects.Some people simply don't bother posting issues with the nad electronics. They just move on but I can bet you that every fifth owner of the nad gear had issues with their products. And yes, I call nad GARBAGE because I lost $3.000.00 in total.
But there is another option. I will call nad the best manufacturer of the HI FI electronics if you are willing to cover my loss.
For those who are interested, Lenbrook America owns NAD and PSB distribution in the U.S. The President is Dean Miller and his personal cell number is 310-200-8246.
I had an extended, and unpleasant, series of interactions with Mr. Miller regarding a pair of defective PSB Alpha B-1's. Not only was the fake black ash vinyl peeling off the speaker cabinets, but the dealer overcharged a buddy of mine more than $100 when the speakers were purchased. I forwarded copies of the sales receipt to Mr. Miller, who took a couple of weeks to "decide" on the matter. Ultimately, he judged my concerns to be one of the handful of calls he gets annually from people who are "trying to get something from the company" because "you done me wrong..." It would be hysterical fiction, but unfortunately, this is a true story.
I would find it very interesting to keep a tally on how many folks actually call Mr. Miller regarding the defective NAD or PSB products they have purchased, and see what the results of their calls are. My guess? He changes his phone number, ignores your calls, and sends me a cease and desist. Meanwhile, I will run my signal through my CJ ET5 and Monoblocks to my PSB Stratus Gold i's (yup, you heard that right) and will always trust my ears. You should, too. Cheers.
Had same experience with Nad 955 amp. Looking at repair and upgrade costs, I simply decided to retire them. Realized how sterile and cold NAD sounds when I replaced T175 and t 955 with a single Marantz Sr 6011. My JMLab Cobalts are singing again. Major mistake going NAD. Stear clear. Peace.
I have had three NAD integrated amps, one NAD pre-amp, and two NAD CD players for years. The only problem I've ever had is that one of the CD players does not turn off, so I hooked it up to a circuit breaker. In my experience, NAD components are reliable, affordable, and sound good.
The NAD gear I have owned over the years has been fine. They do seem to have a checkered past regarding reliability however. Suspect it relate to little direct control over quality.
This is an irrational response on more than one level that should be considered with caution. First, the problem is a sample of one. If, for instance, an audio dealer dumped every line of equipment that had one failure there would be nothing to sell or buy. Every product has some failure. Secondly, the $400 quote (very high, especially if they did not do some circuit board level testing) did not come from NAD but an independent agent whose only connection with NAD is that the agency agrees to accept NAD's flat rates to fix in warranty and if probably a high quote. There is nothing exotic about a C356 and the problem is likely minor since it still functions on both channel. For the record, I would send the unit to United Radio in Syracuse, NY, probably the best service agency on the East coast if not the country. They are very reasonable. I have sent them hundred of units to repair. If you live on the East coast this is where NAD would direct you. John Dorsey SOUNDSCAPE Baltimore, MD
I owned an NAD C370 integrated amplifier for nearly 15 years. At times it was worked very hard and for long hours! Many parties😝 never had a peep out of it. Just recently sold it to upgrade and got a decent price out of it for its age. Perhaps quality control has dropped off but I loved my NAD!
interesting you say sample of one. A few years back I was looking at them and a local dealer said they were pretty popular, but decided to drop the line when they kept getting them returned for repairs or failures, definitely not just an N=1. That wasn't the only dealer that's told me that.
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