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Vicky B | Hi I am a newie trying to buy a receiver and speakers. I am considering the same options for the receiver. I am much more of a music person than a movies, though ideally I would not want to give up on anything...Currently , based on reviews and some trials, my preference order is: 1. NAD T762 or 760 2. Denon AVR 2803 3. Onkyo SR 800 Am I thinking about this the right way? I am very confused!!! I think I want to go for the NAD but it is much more expensive. ALso I do want to try and be future proof - how important is it though? In terms of speakers, my dealer was coaxing me into either B&Ws or Dynaudio... Any thoughts finally should I get speakers first or receiver? thanks |
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John A | The Nad T760 is model from about three-four years ago. I have one. It is great. Its successor is the T752. Soon there will be a T753. As to what to get first, do you have any hi-fi components or system at all? If you buy a whole system in one go with little previous knowledge, a good retailer is important. B&W speakers are excellent. For a complete Home Theater set of speakers at up to $1000, they are just behind the latest KEF HT2005 according to one recent UK review. |
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Vicky B | Thanks John I am a first-timer into the hi-fi world. I am closing in on a NAD t762. However should I wait for the 763 if it is coming? Also I am still unsure whether NAD has a full set of connectivity and decoder options. Finally, I read elsewhere on the forum I should have some bright speakers with the NAD. Are B&W fine? What about Jamo? |
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John A. | Vicky, There is a thread on the forthcoming NAD range: https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/4919.html From the descriptions, there are only minor changes. The T762 is an excellent receiver and its sound quality will not be improved in the T763, I think. Also, you will not want for connectivity options, anyway. The user manual is available from the NAD web site. http://www.nad.co.uk also www.nadelectronics.com. The back panel of the receiver has connection points for everything you will need and more. Re decoder options, NAD does not add fancy surround effects emulating churches and so on. It gives DTS (the best surround sound) and Dolby Digital in their latest versions, For getting surround sound from stereo (videotapes; broadcasts; CDs) there is Prologic II and "EARS". I personally think that is quite enough. Re speakers B&W have a great reputation, I would choose those. But get a demonstration if you can. Hawk knows much about matching speakers to receivers. He may read this and comment. |
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Anonymous | Vicky, welcome to the world of Home A/V. The best way to help you out is to know how big your room is (wxhxl) and what type of flooring etc. This way we would accurately tell you which receiver would be able to fill your room with great sound. The new T763 will retail for $1300 +/- but does have all the conectivity you'll need while having enough power to drive most speakers out there. I think the room dimmesion limits for this model would be 14x22 and 10 foot ceilings max. It looks like you have a budget target of around $3000 +/-, with that kind of budget you'll have a sweet system, minus the TV of course. |
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John A. | On another thread Hawk specifically says B&W are a good match with NAD. It would be a good choice. The T762/3 has plenty of power and you could use all large speakers safely to fill a big room, with a clear margin for safety. If pushed, it depends on the speaker sensitivity aka "efficiency" (higher values give more volume per Watt). 85-90 dB per Watt at 1 meter, with a standard test signal, is a reasonable sort of speaker sensitivity specification. As regards room size and Anon., the question will be how much do you need things really loud in a really big room; it will affect your choice and price of speakers. Unless you have quite unusual room requirements, 100 real Watts per channel from the receiver, with 5 or 6 channels, plus an active sub, is going to be fine, with lots of power in reserve. Speaker manufacturers sometimes face a trade-off between neutral frequency response and sensitivity, so a low 85 dB can be a better speaker provided you have a powerful amp (the 762/3 is that). B&W (British) know what they are doing, no question. I don't know Dynaudio at all, but I could be out of touch with recent makes and regions. In N. America there are obviously great speaker makers almost unknown in Europe, where I am. I have noticed Canada and Northern US states seem home to recommended speaker makers; same in Europe with UK and Denmark. Wonder why that is? Must be the cold weather (off topic...). |
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G-Man | Vicky B--- The only way to intelligently advise you on your purchases is to know a few things: 1) how big is your room? and is it carpetted? 2) do you already own a tv monitor and dvd player? 3) if you are just buying a receiver and speakers--what is your budget? 4) don't buy expensive wire and cables from your retailer :-) 5) Your retailer should give you at least 10% off MSRP if you buy a receiver and speakers. Unless the retailer is bringing the equipment over, setting it up, using an SPL meter to balance the speakers, and teaches you how to operate the remote--it is ludicrous to pay them list price for being a conduit for goods from the manufacturer. |
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Anonymous | Vicky, Check this out. These receivers has equipt with YPOA (Yamaha Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer). When this feature is activated, the receiver will automatically adjust and compensate its sound reproduction based on room acoustics and size. http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/RECEIVER/RX-V1400.htm http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/RECEIVER/RX-V2400.htm http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/RECEIVER/RX-Z9.htm |
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John A. | Anonymous, YPOA is hi-tech snake oil. What nonsense. Has the thing got ears and a brain? It's your, music, your room; you decide, not a box of tricks. Jeez. |
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Vicky B | Hey guys, thanks for the inputs. Here is some more information. My room is kind of square shaped with L*B*H of 17*20*9 ie approx 3000 cubic feet. It has a small rug but is not carpeted for the most part. However, it has fairly huge windows. I do own a monitor (Samsung) and DVD player (pioneer) which I may change later if needed. therefore I am in this only for the receiver and speakers. Again, more for music than HT. In terms of budget I am looking at about $2000 - 2500. From what I have read here and heard, I am looking quite set on a NAD. The question now is the right model. Given the price, I am thinking of the NAD T752. Apart from the 5.1, lower power (80W) and lack of a/b channels, would it be okay for my room and music/HT mix. I do like power but am unlikely to hear really loud music. Vicky-B |
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John A. | Sorry for the small rant. Most impolite, now I read it back. The 753 will have A/B channels for stereo, I think, a definite improvement over the 752. NAD are very modest about the real power ratings of their receivers: unlike e.g. Yamaha (!), the 752 will give 80W to each and every channel all at the same time, with low distortion. That is a lot, and you room is not huge. A really good dealer will let you try out equipment at home. A 752 with B&W is an attractive option. The gist of my rant was trust your own judgement; whether you like what you hear is the issue. No circuitry can know better than you what is right for your requirements. You also have the question of what is best to go with the Pioneer. I know little about that. I tend to think electronics will be most compatible if they come from the same manufacturer. Though for some years I mixed a pre- and power- amp for stereo with no problem. |
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elitefan | Vicki, See J&R Music World website for sale on Harman Kardon receivers. They have the H/K 525 for $649. Great unit if you only have 6 or less components in your system. Other H/K models are also on sale. I would stay away from Yamaha, Denon and SonyES and look at the H/K, Pioneer Elite, NAD, Rotel and Marantz but the prices on the H/K's at J&R are great and they are a authorized dealer. |
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John A. | Vicky, Afterthought. If you do not already have drapes (curtains) for the fairly huge windows, get some. Especially if you have an expanse of hard floor. And even more so if the window is behind the speakers. Reflections from smooth surfaces make everything sound louder, but destroy the sense of direction in the sound, the phase of the sound, and the clarity. That one addition could make more difference than anything discussed here previously. |
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Vicky B | Hi Guys I auditioned the NAD T 752 with several speakers. I am getting more comfortable with the idea of getting the NAD. One final check I want to make is by testing it against a good HK. The reviews I have read are good. Now I really need help on speakers. It is even more confusing than receivers. I don't even know what to look for. I heard the NAD with PSB bookshelves and didn't like it at all - not much bass. I heard it with Dynaudio Audience 82 and 62. Very rich sound. It could handle just about anything but not the kind of clarity and "thump" that I like. I have still to test it with the B&W 602/603 but the sales guy was hard selling the Dynaudio. Any opinions on which brand to take? also what other brands would you recommend? I am considering Mission, Boston Acoustics, Energy, Jamo, Mordaunt, and Polk. Please help |
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Anonymous | Vicky, The hiden problem with NAD reciever is a noisy fan and number of repair history. If you want qaulity A/V receiver, consider Yamaha, Denon & Onkyo. |
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Anonymous | Vicky FYI, NAD quality: http://www.audioreview.com/A-V+Receivers/NAD+T761/PRD_125205_2718crx.aspx Yamaha Superiority: http://www.audioreview.com/A-V+Receivers/Yamaha+RX-V2300/PRD_140182_2718crx.aspx |
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Anonymous | have 2 friends with non-surround sound NAD C370 amplifiers and from what I have seen and heard the C370 ROCKS......but....... 10 days ago I visited a very reputable local HiFi/Home Theatre business to listen to the new NAD T762. I listened to the T762 and its less expensive brother the T752. After returning for various listening sessions with my own CD's I forked out the A$1700.00 cash for the T752 (At A$2300.00, the T762 was a little more than I wanted to spend). Anyway, in the last 10 days I seem to have had nothing but problems with the T752......please read on. I have returned to the store twice and the store has changed the T752 over for me twice !!!!! I have encountered the following problems with 2 different T752's, and the 3rd one I have now I am returning for the same reasons. Please read on. The first T752 I took home with joy and glee......but soon struck the following problems..... a) The On-Screen Display (OSD) setup menu where configuration of channels/speaker settings etc is done would not stop flickering in the same way as when a TV is incorrectly tuned and the picture flashes up and down on screen. This meant there was no way speaker settings or other configuration could be done. The very interesting thing with this was when the amp had been left powered on and idle for about 20 to 30 minutes, it seemed to warm up a little, the OSD stopped flashing up and down and I was able to configure it.......What the ????? I tried the same process over the next 2 days or so.......same thing each time....turn the amp on flickering OSD.....OK when warm.....turn the amp off....wait an hour or so until it cooled down.....turn the amp on.....OSD was all over the place. At this stage I changed 2 different S-Video cables thinking it might be my TV....nope ! b) During surround channel configuration the amp does an auotmatic test of each channel/speaker. The test revealed I needed to set the decibel (dB) level of the Left Front channel to +8dB while leaving the Right Front channel at 0dB for both channels to sound at balance. Surely this is a little strange I said to myself.....anyway onward I went. c) After configuring all speaker settings I sat down to listen/watch one of my favorite DVD's:Gladiator. It was during this first DVD that I began to notice a continuous "hissing" being emitted from the Front channels while in ALL surround sound modes. This became louder as the volume control was increased, and at one point increasing the volume began to cause another electronic "clicking" noise over the top of the continuous "hissing".......mmmmmm getting better. I stopped Gladiator and inserted another DVD - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with original non-surround sound track. Same thing.....continuous "hissing" and electronic "clicking" as I increased the volume. I then went on to listen to various tracks from 4 different audio CD's with the amp set at standard "stereo" mode.....same thing...."hissing" and "clicking" Not good. I called the store and the Manager (who is also the owner) told me how perform a "hardware reset" of the T752's BIOS/Firmware. I performed the reset but at that stage the amp totally locked up and the only way I could get it back working was to turn it off at the front switch !!!!! Tried this twice and the same thing each time. When I finally managed to get the amp back working the same old "hissing" and "clicking" returned right on time ! I returned NAD T752 nunber 1 to the stores and told the Manager there was a problem. After a quick listen/look he agreed and we tried listening to NAD T752 number 2.......before we could even setup/configure NAD number 2 the ruddy On-Screen Display didn't work (no display whatsoever).....T752 bumber 2 was D.O.A....what luck we were having ! OK.....NAD T752 number 3...OSD display is fine...we setup/configured it for surround sound and watched/listened to parts of numerous CD's and DVD's over a couple of hours without any problems. Home ND Number 3 came.......it is now Sunday evening (I have had number 3 for nearly 4 days) and it has been doing EXACTLY the same as NAD number 1......."hissing" and "clicking" for about 8 hours. NOT HAPPY I am taking NAD number 3 back tommorrow for a chat with the owner and a refund on something else. If I can add one last comment before I send you all to sleep..... I iterate that 2 of my closet friends have non-surround sound NAD C370 amps and I believe they are GREAT....I am not so sure about T752's ! Jury's out....... |
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Anonymous | I have a NAD T751 receiver and have had no problems with it for over 2 years, until probably a month from today when I turned it on and this awful digital distorted noice came out of my speakers. This noice could be heard at video input 1, 2, 4, 5 and cd input, then when it gets warm it's all fine and quiet. Now this irritating noice is on every channel, even when i use the digital inputs, does anyone else have this problem? I asked the swedish hifi club were I bought it and they hadn't heard of the problem before. |
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Anonymous | Quote from John A. "YPOA is hi-tech snake oil. What nonsense. Has the thing got ears and a brain? It's your, music, your room; you decide, not a box of tricks." Why bother your self of tedius setup and sound calibration if the A/V receiver can do the job automatically and accurately. |
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John A. | Anonymous 3.56 p.m. Try rebooting -disconnect from mains, leave it a while, then start up. I think there is also a reset combination of buttons you can press, but I don't know it for that model. Anyone else? If that does not work, you could contact the place where you bought it. An NAD authorized dealer like Hifi klubben should be able to find out the problem even if they did not sell it to you. Anonymous 4.08 p.m. How do you check whether the YPOA is working properly? |
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John A. | Anonymous 12.03 p.m. "I am taking NAD number 3 back tommorrow for a chat with the owner and a refund on something else" You said all that on August 24 https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/4098.html#POST23106 ...but never responded with what you found out on Aug 25. Hawk described the NAD reliability problem as an audio urban legend. Yours seems to be a first-hand experience, not "a friend told me his friend said.." but your post is re-cycled, and not updated. Any news? |
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Anonymous | When you said that you have Samsung monitor, is that a plasma panel w/ component video port? If so, how many component video ports does your Samsung have? I know that your room is not that big, but how likely are you to upgrade to 7.1 or 9.1 in the FUTURE when new format may be recorded? I ask b/c you want your gears to be future proof, which I agree. Here is my 2 cent thought. I'd assume that your monitor is a plasma unit w/ 1 component video and you're likely to add few more surround speakers for your future HT 7.1 or 9.1 setup. If that was my case, I'd get the new Yahama RX-1400 or -V2400. For convenience, both models can convert composite and S-video to component. My wife and kids would love such feature b/c they hate to switch TV inputs on the plasma panel. However, the future may be DVI ports only, but that's another story. Both units can do up to 9.1 for your future pref. The $300 difference between those 2 models is mostly b/c of 100 wpc and 120 wpc, respectively. I suspect that you rather have RX-V2400 since 120wpc is not all continuous driven power. However, if you add a multi-channel amp to your AVR, you should be in good shape with either model. Amp will warmth to your music taste. Good luck. |
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| Not sure if this is a dead thread or not, but I am partial to the Denon receivers. I have been using a 3801 for about 2 years now with a 6.1 speaker system (Aperion) and have always loved the fidelity and response of all of the components. My room is on the smaller side, and heavily carpeted with a lot of furnature. Yet the Denon + Aperion combination sounds great. Have you looked at Aperion Audio speakers (http://www.aperionaudio.com/)? The only real drawback to them is that you can't go somewhere and audition them, unless you have a friend who owns a set. However Aperion will ship you a full set and if you don't like them after 30 days, they'll take them back and cover all the shipping costs. Give them a look if you want to try out an affordable, great sounding set of speakers. |
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John A. | Maelwys, "Not sure if this is a dead thread or not" No, it isn't. But you can relive some posts on https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/4943.html and https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/4098.html |
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Ratman | Trying to decide - Denon 3803 or Yamaha RX-v2400. Any insight? |
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Johnny | Ratman, What speakers? |