NAD vs. Cambridge Audio

Great choice, and definitely worth the extra money. It has a very organic sound that is captivating and involving.

CA gear, like some other brands, might be bright w/ the wrong cabling, speakers, etc. Because of a bad mix of gear, is why some folk go for softer, warmer gear, as it is just blend easier to mate. I find my CA amp staggering for the money in my system as it is set up. It's all about synergy.

That is one thing I've always liked about Linn and Naim. The synergy in their full system makes it hard to do much better for the money spent, even though it is a bit pricey. They make it easy to enjoy the music.

My vote goes for the NAD. I have not heard Cambridge Audio but I do own Arcam.
I just received a 315bee to power Studio 40s v4. It's bit early to talk about it as the amp has been playing for only 15 hours, but I can say that, right out of the box, it is distinctively heavier on the bass / upper-bass frequencies compared to arcam (arcam maybe the same as cambridge audio with a higher price tag). Much much warmer. Another thing that striked me is how much more detail it reveals. Really, this little NAD could make the 3x more expensive arcam pass for a bestbuy superstore brand. In any case, burned-in or not burned-in, it plays loud without shouting, it is very musical, and it feels a lot more dynamic/powerful than 40wpc. Very nice indeed. I do not know yet if I need more power; I will make the decision to keep it or to get the 326 next week.

How can someone say one brand is better than another brand he admits he has never heard. That is illogical.

Having heard both--but not with the various speakers in question that everyone who has auditioned may have employed, I would say that the anwser is a bit complex.
The NAD is 'punchier' a trademark of that piece--but,(to my ear) a tad bit more grainy--think Krell versus, Pass for example.
The Cambridge was to my ear a much more 'musical' sounding piece--some may say 'coloration', I can't argue in either direction.
For listening to MY favorite music on the speakers I like, the Cambridge is more musical.
Both are great products and well represented though. If you can try both...try to do so.

Good luck,

Larry

Naim is a very reputable brand. They are more pricey than Creek & Exposure but they are well known for driving difficult loads like Dynaudio & Totem with little problem. You have chosen wisely. Good deal.

I think it depends on what genre of music that you listen to on a regular basis and also how much of your budget to be allocated for the speakers to decide whether to go with NAD or CA. It also depends on what type of speakers that you have in mind. If you have silk dome tweeters, you do not have to go with NAD. But if you have metal dome tweeters, NAD's warm sound may be an easy way out for you.

I have auditioned CA with a pair of Arro at a local dealer a year or two ago. From my note, the Totem Arro, CA 540A, and 540C combo produced a holographic imaging, the "there there" imaging that most jazz & vocal fans are willing to pay good $$$ for. There was decent bass for jazz & vocal but not enough for rock, hip hop, or rap.

High is extremely smooth but a pair of hand coated silk dome tweeters on the Arro may be a factor here. Bass is a bit recessed for my taste but for fans of jazz, piano, small ensemble, and vocal, they will have no complaint. A pair of fast power subs could do the job very nicely filling in the bottom octave for small footprint speakers like the Arro or the PSB T45. The CA amp & CA CD player combo has great chemistry with that Totem Arro. No wonder that dealer has sold more Totem Arro, CA amps & CD players than anything else in his store. Problem is he does not carry Dynaudio and NAD so that I can do direct AB testing.

Now, the NAD 326BEE high is pretty smooth, partnering a NAD 545BEE. IMO, the NAD 326BEE will also have great chemistry with revealing speakers like the Totem Arro or the Dynaudio Excite X12 or even the PSB Image T45.

From my experience the NAD 545BEE CD player is a very neutral player for the $$$ and more neutral than its brother C326BEE.

If you are a bass guy, you will like the NAD 326BEE & 545BEE combo than you like the CA 540A & 540C. If the designer at NAD can find a way to tweak the NAD 326BEE just a hair so that the 326BEE will be more focused on the high and the midrange than the midbass as it is now, NAD will have a repeat success as they did with the NAD 3020 decades ago at least at this price point.

It also depends on your philosophy of a good set up. Some people would allocate 40% for speakers, 30% for amplification, and 30% for the source which is probably more wisely than my preference.

My preference is 45% to 50% for speaker, 25% for both amp & the source.