NAD C326BEE

[parote]

Hi,


I'm aware this isn't really a DIY-related issue, but I thought this forum would be a good place to post because of the technical nature of the issue I'm having.


I had a NAD 3020 for about 30 years until it recently gave up, and after a bit of research decided to replace it with a NAD 326BEE.


I used it with a pair of Audiomaster MLS4 speakers (quite large speakers, around 2 cubic feet) and it was able do drive them perfectly at loud volumes. However the new NAD shuts itself off at over a certain volume (which is much lower than I've heard it go with the old NAD, despite the new one being a more powerful amp). I tested the speakers with my son's quad power amp and surprisingly the exact same thing happens, the amp shuts itself off and flashes a red light at quite a low volume.


One of the problems is that I'm unable to find any technical data on these speakers but I seem to recall that they had an impedance of 8 ohms which should be fine when paired up with the new NAD (it is ok with 4 ohms and above).


I imagine some sort of circuit breaker is being tripped, but why this should be happening is beyond me, as both amps are able to provide more power than the old NAD. Does anyone have any ideas about what may be happening?


Thank you for any help

[nigelwright7557]

Could be the speakers are too low an impedance for the amps.

Or could be the speakers are damaged and are partly shorted out internally.
The first check would be to measure the impedance of the speakers with a multi meter.

[rabbitz]

Check your impedance switch on the amp if it has one and set it on 4R. Use the direct setting on the amp so there is no tone controls in use such as a high bass setting as can suck a lot of power from the amp.

Could be the speaker or speaker wire shorting across terminals. Look for any stray strands of wire. Try running 1 speaker at a time to see if a speaker is faulty. Increase the volume slowly to see if it trips. Then try the other speaker.

I think these amps have a soft clipping switch on the back panel, so try that on and off.

[Melon Head]

If you are using exotic speaker cable this could be causing oscillation.

One other thing, My mate had a similar problem when he decided to bi-wire his speakers, but forgot to remove the connecting plates from the binding posts on the speakers. After I showed him the problem he removed the plates and problem solved.

[Ian Finch]

Originally Posted by Melon Head

My mate had a similar problem when he decided to bi-wire his speakers, but forgot to remove the connecting plates from the binding posts on the speakers.

Eh, that would be as they were, single wired, so were the speakers originally
fatiguing? BTW, Parote, have you checked out even the DC resistance on your speakers, yet?