NAD C320 User manual

C320 Integrated Amplifier
Date of manufacture : July 98 - Current
Please note that this document contains the text from the original product brochure, and some technical statements may now be out of date
• 2 x 40 Watts continuous into 8ohms
• 90 Watts dynamic power into 8ohms
• 160 Watts dynamic power into 2ohms
• Impedance Sensing Circuitry (ISC)
• Full system remote control
• Headphones socket
• Relay input switching
• Toroid power transformer
• 7 Line inputs, including two tape in/outs
• All discrete circuitry
• Short signal path from input to output
• All sockets gold plated
• Tone controls defeat switch
• Pre-out / Main-in
• Soft Clipping
• NAD Link
Introducing the C320. This amplifier is the latest in the family of NAD’s modestly priced integrated
amplifiers which stretch back to the legendary 3020. One step up from the splendid 310, the C320 is
fully remote controlled with the NAD C Series system controller and is destined to become yet another
NAD classic.
Features
The C320 has 7 line inputs (including 2 tape in/outputs with dubbing facility) and the pre-amplifier
section can be separated from the power amplifier for easy upgrades (bi-amping, for instance) or adding
ancillary equipment without making the C320 redundant.
Tone controls tend to come and go on amplifiers, depending on whatever is in vogue at the time. This
does not mean that tone controls should necessarily be regarded as a superfluous extra. Given proper
thought and design, tone controls can make a genuine contribution to overall sound quality. The C320
tone controls only work at the frequency extremes leaving the critical mid-band essentially unaltered.
The tone control circuits can be completely bypassed by using the tone defeat switch.
A closer look at ISC
The NAD C320 is one of the first products to benefit from Bjørn Erik Edvardsen's latest development.
ISC topology - the letters stand for Impedance Sensing Circuit - allows the C320 to deliver maximum
performance under virtually any circumstance, independent of the loudspeakers it is driving. The circuitry
automatically recognises the impedance characteristics of the loudspeaker and will then adjust its power
supply settings to best cope with that specific load.
NAD takes a stand against the mindless “brochure power”approach which doesn't give a realistic
indication of an amplifier’s true capabilities. Instead, the ISC topology is a practical approach to enable
an amplifier to easily deal with dynamics and difficult loads. More meaningful are the C320’s dynamic
capabilities; up to 160 Watts into 2 ohms and up to 35 amps current capability!

All the traditional and essentially useful NAD features are here, such as Soft Clipping (helps prevent your
speakers from damage through abuse!) and Pre-out/Main-in for extra flexibility and to provide an easy
upgrade path for example. Like all the other in- and output sockets, the Pre-out/Main-in sockets are
gold plated for long-term contact reliability.
As the C320 also has NAD Link the remote control will also operate many other NAD products such as
CD players, tuners etc.
Other design features include relay input switching (located right behind the input sockets for short
signal paths) and the large toroidal transformer (less mechanical hum and stray magnetic field). The
generous power supply and over-rated output devices further lead to low noise and low distortion for
the entire amplifier.
The C320 does it all at a price that will astound you.

PRE-AMP SECTION
Line level inputs
Input impedance (R and C) 20kΩ/ 500pF
Input sensitivity (ref. 1W) 165mV
Frequency response 20Hz - 20kHz / ±0.3dB
Line level outputs
Output impedance Pre-out 220Ω
Tape Source Z + 2kΩ
Video 220Ω
Tone controls
Treble ±5dB at 10kHz
Bass ±7dB at 100Hz
POWER AMP SECTION
Continuous output power into 8Ω* 40W (16dBW)
Rated distortion (THD 20Hz - 20kHz) 0.03%
Clipping power (maximum continuous power per channel) 55W
IHF Dynamic headroom at 8Ω+3.5dB
IHF dynamic power (maximum short term power per channel) 8Ω90W (19.5dBW)
4Ω125W (21dBW)
2Ω160W (22dBW)
Damping factor (ref. 8Ω, 50Hz) >60
Signal/noise ratio ref. 1W 90dB
ref. rated power 104dB
Remote Yes
NAD Link Yes
PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions (W x H x D) 435 x 100 x 290mm
Net weight 6.5kg
Shipping weight 7.7kg
* Minimum power per chnnel, 20Hz - 20kHz, both channels driven with no more than rated distiortion.
Dimensions are of unit’s cabinet without attached feet; add up to 18mm for total height.
Dimension depth excludes terminals, sockets, controls and buttons.
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