Just a quick question to those who own a t 743... I recently purchased one, and am impressed with it...but the instr. book says the volume range goes from -74db to +18db. I can only reach +8. I thought it must be because the 'soft clipping' function was on, but releasing this only expanded the range to +9db.
Is your T743 hissing? I got mine last week, and it is definitely hissing on all active channels. I am returning it for a full refund, as I am not confident I can get a unit which will not develop some kind of fault. This morning I could also hear ticking whilst changing listening volume. Not a happy customer I am afraid. Heard very good things about NAD, and admittedly, the sound, ignoring the hiss, was excellent. But I just can't put up with it when listening at night. The noise is definitely coming from the preamp function, and I am sure it is noise from one of the analog components. When listening to the radio, the background noise is so loud I can;t listen to it. I have a cheap Yamaha which I use as a back up, and that performs flawlessly (although admittedly the sound quality isn't as good).
yeah, there is a slight hiss, more than my previous amps. Luckily the sound quality makes up for it, but it could be irritating in the long run. Have you tried 'missing link' cables in the Pre-Out/Main-In section on the back panel? I've heard it's supposed to make a difference. Not sure if it will help the hissing problem.
A receiver that hisses(to me), is like enjoying a large piece of your favorite delux pizza, only to find half of a worm after the 3rd bite. Talk about runing your appetite.
I am returning the unit today, so it is packaged now and can't really do any more checks. I tried removing the jumpers connecting the pre-out to the main in, replacing them with RCA connectors: no difference. I have an old Sansui (year 1979), so I know that if I put my ear to a speaker (especially the tweeter) I will hear some kind of noise. That is what discrete amplifiers do. But the noise on the old Sansui is inaudible at Min volume, and gets progressivly louder as I increase the volume; it does not get annoying until ridicolous volume levels. With the NAD I have (Serial No: R52T7432437, Manuf. date Feb. 2005), sent to me directly from Lenbrook Ltd in the UK (as it says on the "from" sticker on the box), this noise is present from -74db (just above -infinite.dB), it is audible from a distance of 9 feet; in particular, the noise (hiss/white noise) does not get any louder no matter how high I set the volume control. Of course, once I get to +XXdB levels, I can finally hear the noise from the amp section, which is of a different tonality from this floor noise. Considering the amp is amplifing any noise coming from the preamp, I am concluding that this noise is not coming from any of the inputs, otherwise the volume control would affect it and amplify it. Instead this noise is obviously introduced somewhere between the volume control and the Pre-out. My cheap Yamaha (RX-V357) uses power ICs instead of discrete components, so although its power rating is more like 30wpc (when all driven sim.), it has one of the best noise ratios: it is so silent, that in movie passages like The Matrix where Morpheus explains to Neo what the Matrix is and there is only speach from the centre channel, it is quite spooky. With the NAD, if I increase the volume enough, I can hear the centre channel in my surrounds. This does not happen with the Yammy. Maybe Power ICs are the way forward for HT, where channel separation and noise ratios are more important than musicality. After all HT is about special effects. I do recognise the superior sound of the NAD: playing music in stereo at high enough volumes the sound is just so more enveloping, and complete.
I just did the same test using the matrix scene you used...your right, I could hear the centre channel coming out of the front speakers as well! The hiss test is also the same, (not increasing as volume increases), but I can only the hiss when I stand close to the speakers. I read from another thread that you own a RX8...great! I used to own a done up RX4 about 10yrs ago...loved it. Always wanted a RX8, but car prices in Denmark are through the roof!