Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions will it work

Hi
My 2 guestions are directly related to deciding which type of speaker to buy . Speaker choices i have decided to go with are axiom m60ti or axiom m80ti.
I have just bought the nad c370 and will be bying the nad c270 what i would like to do is 1) buy two axiom m60ti which are 8 ohms each and hook one to the c370 and the other to the c270 or/ hook the c370 to the c270 and hook the 2 set of speakers to the nad c 270 to gain more power volume loudness.
2) the other way i would like to go is to get the nad c 270 hooked to the nad c370 and hook the axiom m 80ti into the the nad c270 to get max power in essence doubling power volume loudness my idea is to turn the nad c270 up all the way then use the nad c 270 to control the volume. so with all this information is any of this possible and if so what or how would this be hooked up.

thanks scott
ps the axiom m 80s have alot of power and the c370 can push them but not to the levels that i would like but if i can configure the nad c370 and 270 somehow these speakers would really open up for me thanks really appreciate all the help
scott

Have you ever heard the M80's with the 370. thats what im using, and if the 370 wont push the axioms loud enough then you are probbly listening to them wayy to loud. I would get the M80's and hook them to the 370 before you think you need to get the 270 as well.

Allnew:

What Haoleb said (I run the same setup as he does). The M80s are very efficient -- combined with the C370 they can play blindingly (er, deafeningly ) loud.

Having said that, the C370 is not the best amp. If you are spending the money to get another C270 then you may be well served to buy a more expensive amp. A used S200 maybe?

Just to get this straight, you're not talking about combining the two amp sections, are you? Because that would probably result in a puff of smoke, and perhaps a fire. I don't think putting a high power output into a low power (line level) input is a good idea.

That said, also remember that double the power is not anywhere near double the volume. (see Alan's article in the Late Summer Axiom Audiofile).

How big a space are you trying to fill? And how loud do you need them to be?

Probably a good way to go is to use the c270 to power the M80s using the c370 as a preamp.

the C270 and 370 have identical amplifier sections so that wouldnt work, ie using the 370 for only pre. If you wanted to use both amps i would either biwire using the 370 for the highs and 270 for lows, or use them both as mono amps and do it t hat way, but seriously. on 12 o clock volume position its reeally loud.

Whoops! Right you are. Dur....

Scott, if what you're proposing is to somehow hook two amps up in tandem, then as Ken indicated the answer is no, it won't work. Both the 370 and 270 can be bridged to work as one channel amps of roughly double the power(3 db increase in maximum loudness), but it appears that you may be worrying about a non-existent problem. Unless your listening room is huge and you're sitting far away the 370 will drive the M80s loud enough to blow you right out of the room.

Seeing that the M80 is a 4ohm load I don't believe you can bridge those amps with out a problem.When bridging, the amp would be seeing the load on the M80's as a 2ohm load.Such is the case with ervery amp I'seen or read about.Your best bet and safest would be is to Bi amp your M80's Good luck

No matter what he does, the amps will have no problem. They can handle 2 ohms...

70 amps peak current into 1 ohm.

Taken from the NAD site

http://www.nadelectronics.com/hifi_amplifiers/c370_framset.htm

"The C370 also benefits from NAD's proprietary Impedance Sensing Circuit (ISC) topology, now well established and used in many NAD models including the highly reviewed C320 and C340.

The ISC topology allows the C370 to deliver maximum performance under virtually any circumstance, independent of the loudspeakers it is driving. The circuitry automatically recognises the impedance characteristics of the loud-speaker and will then adjust its power supply settings to best cope with that specific load. With ISC topology, the relationship of voltage to current is kept at an ideal proportion, eliminating the current limiting distortion common in lesser designs. This also gives it an unusual characteristic compared to traditional amplifiers when measuring its continuous output power; the RMS out- put power remains the same at 120 Watts with either an eight or a four ohms load.

We take exception to mindless "brochure power" specifications, which don'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 musical dynamics and difficult speaker loads. More meaningful in the real world are the C370's dynamic capabilities; up to 450 Watts into 2 ohms and up to 70 amps current capability into 1 ohm! "

i was thinking i could double the power in bridge mode hooked to the m80s with the c370 and 270 however nad only recomends 8 ohm speakers to do so why is this if the amp can handle 2 ohm loads
bye just wondering want to make sure of all my options if i plan on spending all this money lol

Thank you for your recent request via the NAD Electronics web-site. I spoke with technical services regarding your questions, and here is their input:

The C370 should not be bridged with 4 ohm speakers at high levels. 4 ohm speakers look like 2 ohms to a bridged amplifier, and it will therefore over - heat and shut down.

Best regards,

Karen Pritchard
(dc)

hmm. Guess i was wrong.

Anyhow, i still dont know why you think you need both the amps to go loud.

scott,since you just bought your 370,if you can return that and pick up a pre amp and the nad 218thx amp-rated at 430 watts per chan@4 ohms.that might keep you in the same price range and give you the power your looking for while still sticking with nad...just a idea...good luck...ron

is it possible to use the nad c370 as the preamp since it cant be returned thanks for the advice

i dont own one,but i just read some specs on it,they said it has 2 pre amp outs on it,check the back panel and owners manuel,looks like it might work...good luck...ron

yes. you can use it as only a pre-amp. although it would seem kinda like a waste. but what you would do is remove the jumpers on the back between the pre out and main in and then get a pair of interconnects and hook one side up to the pre out (not the second one. the main one.) and hook the other end to the power amp inputs on the other nad.

Scott, get your speakers, hook up the 370 and just enjoy the wonderful sound. Your lust for power is almost certainly unnecessary.

I understand where you're coming from Scott. If you've got the equipment, you might as well use it, right? In this case, it might be better to go with the 370 alone.