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stevie d Unregistered guest | I was all ready to buy an onkyo but you've enlightened me on them. so now that I'm starting over maybe you could help me out on some rscommendations. you mentioned marantz and nad which I'm not that familar with. any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm looking to spend about $700-800 on a receiver.Also I am Considering a good set of polk's for speakers. I will be using the system probably 70% Ht 30% hifi. once again I appreciate the advice |
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Silver Member Username: HawkPost Number: 235 Registered: 12-2003 | stevie: LOL!! Sorry! However, believe me you will end up with a much better system in the end. Hey, which Polks? It makes a difference. The Polk LSi series are 4 ohm speakers and the only receiver in your price range that will comfortably drive a 4 ohm speaker is the NAD. Now, the LSis are the best Polk makes and a very worthy speaker, so it is worth the hassle. The LSi-9 is a great speaker. I would recommend the NAD 752 from Saturday Audio Exchange in Chicago (www.saturdayaudio.com) which they are closing out for $699. A killer receiver, IMO, and very powerful. Or, call Kiefs (www.kiefs.com) which has the newer NAD 753 for $799. Both are powerful and dynamic, and very detailed--will give you the sound of quality separates for the price of a receiver. If not the LSis, I would also check out the Marantz SR7300, available from accessories4less.com for about $680. Not as forward sounding or dynamic as the NAD, it is nevertheless very smooth and silky sounding and a pleasure to listen to. Can be a bit finicky about low impedence speakers, though, so you need to be careful to only mate it with 8 ohm speakers (this is common among receivers). Good luck! |
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New member Username: Rjh7474Post Number: 1 Registered: 02-2004 | Hey Hawk, thanks for helping all us newbies out. I have a continuation of the previous question. I currently have an infinity speaker setup(tower's, surrounds, center and sub) and am looking at upgrading from my sony receiver(for obvious reasons). Based on this forum and my budget,I have narrowed it down to the Nad T752 or T753 and the Marantz MAR SR7300. Any suggestions? P.S. While not in my immdediate plans, please consider that I plan on upgrading my speakers in 12-18 months when my budget permits, I am just a college student) |
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My Rantz Unregistered guest | My 2 cents worth: From the vast number of comments and advise from Hawk in this forum I believe his research and experience makes him well worth listening to. I originally was going to purchase a Nad T752 or T763 both of which offer plenty of power and outstanding sound. The problems of many Nad owners listed in this forum and the discrepencies in honesty of two different salespeople at our local Nad dealership put me off. I purchased a Marantz Sr7300 on Christmas eve and had 3 occurrences when the unit went into protect mode. I thought this may have been due to 6ohm speakers (for font L & R) with 88db sensitivity but I have narrowed that problem down to extreme heat and humidity combined with power supply problems. Over the past week, while the weather is still hot (but not extreme) I have pushed this unit hard both in multi channel and 2 channel. HT sounds excellent but the unit excells musically - I could not be happier with the SR7300 and our speaker combination Fronts JBL XTi60's (I think not available in US), B&W LCR6 series2 Centre, and JBL studio series S362's for rear. On a recent visit from my brother (who considers himself an audiophile) and one who has turned his nose up at JBL's and A/V receivers in general, he listened and was instantly blown away. He owns a ClassA Marantz Signature series amp with Krik speakers. Well, let's say he now has a different outlook. I'd say listen to Hawk and don't be too concerned with Nad problems as I have learnt that their customer service is outstanding. Any of the above recievers should make you happy with the right speakers. Try to audtion them all, make note of the features you require, and above all, trust your own ears. |
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Silver Member Username: HawkPost Number: 240 Registered: 12-2003 | Ryan: I think all three receivers you mention are stellar for the money. The Marantz is really sweet sounding, but just a bit tougher to match with speakers--they do not drive low impedence (4 ohm) speakers, which are becoming more common these days and it isn't great with really laid back sounding speakers, IMO. I took my 15 year old classic Heybrook 2Rs (a very British 2 way standmount) into a Marantz dealer and when driven by the 7300, the dealer was so impressed, he offered to buy them from me on the spot! Like I said, the Marantz is "sweet" sounding. I note you can get a refurb from accessories4less.com for $679.99. You can also probably swing a good deal with your local dealer if he has any left. I am sitting here anxiously awaiting the UPS man with my new NAD T753 which I got from Kiefs (www.kiefs.com), so you know where I put my money. Still, you can get the 752 for $100 less ($699 at www.saturdayaudio.com) and it is almost exactly the same thing. The NADs are more dynamic and powerful sounding than the Marantz, but the overall sound is very close. NADs are not the best with really forward sounding speaker (Klipsch, JMlabs). I will say that regardless of which receiver you buy from your short list, it should be a huge step up, sonically, from your Sony. You cannot go wrong, IMO, with any of them. Good luck! P.S.: Thanks for the compliments, Rantz--I am really glad I could help. However, I do like your brother's Krix speakers! They are very hard to find, but a wonderful speaker to listen to. My compliments to him! |
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New member Username: Rjh7474Post Number: 2 Registered: 02-2004 | Hey Hawk(and anyone else willing to offer their opinion), I have a new contender, the Yamaha RXV-1400. Pending your opinion, I am kinda leaning towards this one because of all the features and the 110w power rating(I know that these vary from manufacturer to manufacturer). |
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Silver Member Username: Elitefan1Post Number: 212 Registered: 12-2003 | rjh, What speakers would you be using with the 1400? Do not be fooled by the power rating of this or any Yamaha except the top two models. This receiver will not come anywhere near it's billed power rating, especially in multichannel mode. It's big brother, the 2400 only produces 43.5 watts with 5 channels driven at .1% distortion. You are correct that Yamaha's are feature laden and IMO that's been at the expense of real quality reproduction in the last several years. The 1400 and 2400 are better than the last few years of Yamaha's and are ok when paired with the right speakers like Paradigm or PSB. Even with these two wonderful speaker brands the Yamaha's can't come close the what a NAD/Paradigm system can do, but do offer a decent alternative for the price and their generous input package and other features[rec out selector] make them worth looking at. Bottom line, not as powerful as billed but if you like the sound and features that's all that matters. |
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Silver Member Username: HawkPost Number: 285 Registered: 12-2003 | rjh: As usual, elitefan has nailed this one. I have listened to the Yamaha now several times. It isn't bad with the right speakers, but their sound quality is not as good as some others. Like many of the giant audio conglomerates, Yamaha has gone after the HT market hard, and quality sound has suffered in an effort to sell more "sizzle." Yamahas have all kinds of gadgets and special soundfields, but I have never had much use for them. If the sound is right, you will know it and you won't need reverb programs to make it right. And there is nothing more ridiculous than using one of those soundfields on the wrong program material! I once listened to a Yamaha receiver as the car chase in "Ronin" was being played--the receiver got stuck in "Stadium" and the saleman couldn't get it to go back to normal. It was very comical. |