System of the Month

It is always a real pleasure to be able to listen to and compare different products and make good sounding component combinations that offer great performance and value for outlay. This relativity applies from entry level through to high end.

We have been playing around recently and enjoying excellent results with a traditional and simple system made up from the following moderately priced components.

The amplifier..... 

The fabulous NAD C328 amplifier forms the heart of this system. It is a 2 x 50 watt per channel stereo unit featuring an MM phono input, 2 x analogue line inputs, 2 x coaxial and 2 x optical digital inputs. The NAD C328 also features Bluetooth to enable wireless streaming, has a dedicated headphone amplifier with 6.5mm input socket and a subwoofer output and IR remote control.

The speakers....

One of the best loudspeakers we have found to partner with this amp is the “Highly acclaimed” and “ Multi Award winning”, Scottish based and designed, Fyne F 301 bookshelf model.  

The Fyne F 301 features a 150mm multi fibre bass/mid range driver allied to a 25mm polymer dome tweeter. They have a sensitivity of 89dB, frequency response of 44Hz to 28kHz and are suited to amps from 25 to 100 watts RMS.

The Source.....

The turntable we have matched with these is the Audio Technica AT-LP2X, an excellent value for money, fully automatic belt drive model with a balanced straight tone arm, damped lift control and the ability to change cartridges to higher models for future performance upgrades if and as required.

In fact, all the components in this system offer the flexibility to upgrade features and add extra components as you progress with and develop your listening experience.

The notorious, wonderfully balanced punch and controlled dynamics of the NAD amp works superbly with the compact fullness, tonal balance, rich dynamics, detailed speed and clear, spacious imaging which are a hallmark of the Fyne F 301 and in fact all Fyne models in general.

The Audio Technica turntable is perfectly suited to these and delivers exceptional performance for the price in this combination.

This is a great little system offering super performance which will suit most small to medium sized listening/ living rooms. With reasonable quality cables to match this combination is wonderful value at around $2k.

If, like many of us, you are still playing CD’s, you can add the great sounding NAD C538 compact disc player which will only increase your spend by another $500 or so.

All in all the NAD C328/ Fyne F301/ Audio Technica AT-LP2X combo is a winning starter system.

If you need to go up a bit from here one can start with looking at the next couple of models up of NAD amplifiers and Fyne 300 or F500 series of loudspeakers and a higher range turntable and cartridge combination to suit your increased, performance, listening area and budget requirements.