I would buy what sounds best to you. If you are not going to listen to a piece of equipment dsigned specifically to reproduce sound then your missing the point. No-one in here can help you. I would get the NAD but thats JUST my opinion.
That said if you are adamant, then take the time to read the posts in here, you are the 2 millionth person to ask the same question.
Anonymous
Posted on
QQdddsa
nout
Unregistered guest
Posted on
I agree with ca_convert. It would be a great buy though, a Marantz PM 7200
Man i would recomend the marantz pm 7200 to anyone esp people on a tight budget ,this amp gives incredible good value for the money.plenty of power deep controlled bass fantastic mid range vocals .i got mine not so long ago and it has reinvented my cd collection this amp really is that good partned with the b$w's man they work well together.manand the looks are stuning way nicer than most but with the clarity and power toback it up,and the amount of extras that u get on this amp is incredable the Marantz PM 7200 IS FANTASTIC!
Both amps have a great reputation, just buy the one you prefer the sounds/looks/features of. One advantage is that the Marantz has a buikt in phono stage (if you have a turntbale for vinyl) which the NAD does not.
I live in Albany, Oregon and have a hifi dealer 10 miles away in Corvallis "Northwest Audio Labs" that sells NAD and Marantz. The owner has been a friend of mine for over 20 years so I spend a lot of time over there. I own both NAD and Marantz products. NAD makes a fantastic integrated but that Marantz PM 7200 is something else. It depends completely on your personal tastes. The Marantz has an incredibly tube like sound for a solid state piece especially at that price range. Don't get me wrong it don't sound like a tube amp but it has a full warm sound that is the antithesis of the dry sterile (meant in the best possible way) sound of the NAD. Northwest Audio Labs used to be a Rotel dealer and I like their products as well. I used to own many Rotel pieces and still visit my friends at Bradford's Home Entertainment in Eugene Oregon who are a Marantz, Rotel, Musical Fidelity dealer. They also carry B&W, Paradigm, Magnepan, and Vandersteen speakers. So I have heard these various amps with different speakers.
nout
Unregistered guest
Posted on
The Marantz has an incredibly tube like sound for a solid state piece especially at that price range. Don't get me wrong it don't sound like a tube amp but it has a full warm sound that is the antithesis of the dry sterile (meant in the best possible way) sound of the NAD.
You're one of few who recognises this tube like character, especially in comparison with NAD C352. Many people have this pre-jugded notion about Marantz being brighter than NAD. Whenever I read a comparison between both amps the NAD is described as warm and the Marantz as bright. Makes me wonder if they really listened to both amps, side by side.
I wouldn't call the NAD sterile, but there is a strange contradiction in its sound: coloured low midds that tends to sound comfortably "warm" with rather bright high midds that tends to sound clinical.
All this in comparison ofcourse, I like NAD a lot, but the velvety sound of the Marantz made me buy the Marantz.
soundquest
Unregistered guest
Posted on
I owned both Nad c370 and Marants pm7200. The Nad is a very good amps but it lacks the tube like sound of pm7200, espesially the midrange, sweet, warm and smooth. If you don't need extreme room shaking bass, get the marants, it simply offer a bit better overall sound. And yes, as nout pointed out it's not bright at all.
Anonymous
Posted on
I owned B&W 602 speakers since 10 years ago, and my amp was a NAD, I enjoyed the warm sound during those years, but in this one my amp NAD was broken (for the second time in 10 years) so I decided to try Marantz PM 7200 using the same speakers, I fully agree with soundquest regarding the "tube like sound", although I think NAD is a good amp, with an excellent ratio cost / benefits and I like it, during this days I had the chance to compare both amps with those speakers and at the end of the day I prefer the marriage between b&w 602 speakers with marantz pm 7200, the sound it's better from my perspective.
Anonymous
Posted on
Up until last November I worked for the US distributors of Sonus faber, Vienna Acoustics, REL sub-bass systems and others. Both Northwest and Bradford's were dealers of ours (Jim at Northwest sells only the Sumiko Oyster phono cartridges). They are a great resource for buying advice - Ted won't push their products on anyone, but will offer advice based on years of collective experience. Give them a call at 510-843-4500, ask for Ted.
