Posting anonymous insults about a well-respected participant in this forum is unlikely to elicit a useful response.
Frankly, I do not envy Hawk. He is called upon daily to answer myriad questions. Sometimes he is given grief for expressing his opinions, and now he gets insulted for not expressing them fast enough.
Hawk has a breadth of experience and a wealth of information that users of this board should consider themselves lucky to have available to them. You may not agree with him, but we would all be poorer without him.
Hawk is a modest guy. I cannot remember him starting a new thread. Also an honest guy. If there's a problem he will tell us. He also writes better than most audio journalists. That takes time. Patience, friends.
My Rantz
Unregistered guest
Posted on
To Anonymous:
You've told us all we need to know about you - you are a waste of space!
Hawk goes above and beyond to answer questions and offer advice. Guess you'd never know what it means to earn the respect he has from most who participate on this forum. Get some help and you'll find you might get more enjoyment out of life!
anonymous here
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Hey Guys, If you believe in all that Hawks says then its fine. Since you don't have the guts to see or experience it for yourselves. Your better off believing what other says. You'' never learn...
My Rantz
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Anonymous
I'ts not a case of believing or disbelieving Hawk or any of the others that offer their experiences or opinions - everyone should test and research then trust their own ears!
Don't you get it? This is about respect - look it up in a dictionary!
Sam Of Chicago
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Dear Anonymous,
Dude, first of all, respect this Bulletin board and don't forget basic ethics and manners. You have no right to call someone names.
A senior and respected person like Hawk deserves outmost respect, which he ofcourse does. I urge you to express your sorries for your indecent remark and join this family where we learn from each other.
Remember, I started addressing Hawk as Dr. Hawk for the guy's knowledge and help. Without his comments/advice and reviews a bunch of us would have not known what we know now. Though being an Elec. Engg. the concept of Wattage and Current draw with respect to speakers-receivers in particular became more clearer to me after I read Hawk's explanation!
I guess we were due for another troll...it has been a few months. Do we all remember the "Hawk is dead" thread (which has since been deleted by the moderators)? This guy is obviously a rookie troll.
Hawk, just know that 99.9% of us on this forum welcome your advice and knowledge with open arms. Keep it up...I for one know that it would not be the same without you. I am also truly happy that you finally got the receiver that you have been wanting for so long. It must be very gratifying for you to have put so much time and effort into your research and have it pay off so well. It has been a long time coming...so CONGRATULATIONS!!
Be patient with the review. Judging from the length of some of Hawks other posts...I expect a novel when he does get around to reviewing his new 753. That takes some time. Lets all remember that he does have a life outside of this forum. Who would have thought?
I like the ability to post here without being a member, hell I only just registered now. It makes impromtu opinions welcome, but it certainly does make it easier for more trolls to pop up.
Hey guys! Sorry I have been absent. However, as we had a three day holiday weekend, I had the rare opportunity to share some time with my family (it happens so rarely with a teen-age daughter!), so I have been busy with other things. Although my wife went back to work today, the kids continued to stay home as today was a Teacher In-Service Day (teacher training), so I had four days with my kids. As we are falling back into our familiar routine this evening, I have some time to respond.
Needless to say, I love my 753. I am only using it for stereo right now (listening to Frank Sinatra as we speak--it doesn't get much better!) driving my beloved Heybrooks. I am still shopping for the right speakers to set up the right HT system, and I really haven't had the time to sit down and read the NAD manual to acquaint myself with the set-up routine for the HT system. After all, I have only had my 753 for a week! I am sure I will get to it shortly. However, I have not yet experienced any fan noise, or hum, or anything else for that manner that would detract from the sonic beauty of this sweet receiver.
Today, I received my first shipment of gear from Parts Express. Now, I highly recommend this bunch--they have great products at excellent prices, and provide fast service. My house was pre-wired for 5.1 sound, but everything is behind a wall blank, so I have to put the connections together myself. I found that my house is actually wired for 6.1 sound as they installed an in-wall electrical box in the center rear for the subwoofer and, not knowing what kind of subwoofer I would have, they ran both RG6 cable (cable TV wire) and 14 awg speaker wire (Class 3). Now, I was pretty dubious at first of the cable tv wire, but I checked with three different dealers that do custom installs and they said that was pretty standard as it was much cheaper than a subwoofer cable and worked just as well (it is shielded cable, after all). I know several people have posted querys about what to do RG6 wire installed for their subwoofer, and I have now figured it out. I went to Parts Express and got a wall plate in which I could mount some very nice 5 way gold plated speaker binding posts. I put a pair of the binding posts into two of the holes for the speaker wire ($3.50/pair from PE). However, PE has a special little adaptor that was exactly what was needed for the subwoofer ($1.90). This is an "F" connector on the rear and the front is a regular RCA jack! This whole wall plate took me less than 10 minutes to asemble with the parts from Parts Express and cost a mere $6.83. I will post some pictures once I figure out how to download from my wife's new digital camera and I succeed in uploading an image or two. All in all, this has been a pretty gratifying as this install is going to be clean and very good looking.
On another note, has anyone ever heard of NSM speakers? I came across their website a few days ago and read some really nice things about their speakers (one was described as comparable to the legendary LS 3/5a at 1/3 of the cost, and perhaps better--very high praise, indeed.). It even seems to have similar charecteristics to the LS 3/5as as the speaker's impedence is nominally rated an 8 ohm speaker, but the minimum impedence is 9 ohms (figure that one out)! Their small size would be a very welcome addition for my room. Any thoughts would be welcome.
Lest I forget, thank you all for the nice comments. I have long said how much I appreciate the great people on this forum and one spiteful comment is easily ignored when so many are supportive.
If you like old Blue Eyes I suggest you listen to a young Frank called Michael Buble (boo - blay) though my reference cd from now will be Van Morrison's 'What's wrong with this picture' - a phenominal recording. To get back on topic:
Glad you're rapt in your 753. You have much fun ahead in determining speakers and setting up. Sounds like you're really wired for it. Good luck with it all.
Dexter
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Hawk, having followed a number of threads its obvious you apprecated the musical capabilities of these recievers. Did you critically listen to the Rotel 1055 or 1065 in the process of selecting the NAD. If so I am currious how you would compare the way they are tuned for music. I am having a hard time getting a change to do a close comparision.
Yes to the 1055, no to the 1065 (way outside of my price range).
Rotel makes a very fine receiver and I spent some serious time with the 1055--I really liked it. Now, it does have a different sound from the NAD. Both the NAD and the Rotel have very detailed pre/pro sections that brings out all of the sound (a number of receivers, even fairly high priced receivers, have trouble reproducing some of the nuance of musical recordings or even background sounds on DVDs, but not NAD or Rotel). The biggest differences I heard were in the amp section, where the NAD was warmer and a little fuller sounding (more bass information). Conversely, the Rotel was a little leaner and just a bit cooler sounding. Overall, the Rotel sounded very clean, but never clinical.
As I have posted many times, I do not consider one sound better than the other, but we each have our preferences as to which one sounds best to us. In my case, I prefered the sound of the NAD, but I can assure you I would have been very happy with a Rotel as I found the choice to be very close. It also didn't help that my Rotel dealer was really holding to the MSRP on the Rotel, making the price difference pretty steep. However, I learned he cut his price on the 1055 to $999 this week (closeout), making it only $200 more than my NAD. That would have been a tougher choice, but I still prefer the overall sound of the NAD by a bit.
Rantz:
Thank you for the tip. I like talented performers of all kinds, so Mr. Buble will be on my audition list. BTW, I agree with you about Mr. Morrison's recording--phenomenal.
Hawk, Do you think anything is "lost" with the added connections in wall plates? I have my speaker wires coming right out of the box in the wall and could install wall plates to make it a little cleaner but since they're out of view I haven't really felt the need (not to mention extra cost in the plates and connecting hardware I would need).
The main reason though is my concern that with additional connections there may be the opportunity for signal loss or something. Is this concern unfounded?
Another question related to your post. My room is also wired with RG6 for the subwoofer. I have 2 wall plates, one on either side at the middle/back of the room. Not far behind the listening positions.
I have heard some thoughts that bass is not directional so it doesn't matter if the sub is in the back or the front but I've also heard some old schoolers say it MUST be up front.
Just want to get some thoughts on this. From the layout of my room it would be more convienient in the rear but sound always takes precedence over visible layout.
When I do eventually upgrade my speakers I plan to hold onto my subwoofer and by a new one to give me dual-subs so one will definitely be in the back.
Incidentally the wall plates have RCA jacks on them so a standard sub coax would connect it.
I'm still learning. Could you leave some detail about you connections? I just got an NAD T753 and have read different threads about by passing the component video straight to the TV for both DVD and cable(Comcast Motorola HDTV box). I asseume you banana plugged to speakers in the receiver and the wall plate. Actually pix at the receiver and the wall plate would help when you get to it. Thanks.
1. I don't think anything will be lost through use of the wall plate connections. I may be a little "Monk"-like here, but I prefer the cleaner look of the assembled wall plate (and it also impresses the wife!). The biggest bonus, however, has to be the adaptor that makes the RG6 to RCA connection possible. The cost was pretty negligible, IMO.
2. Subwoofer placement I think is very dependent upon room acoustics; consequently, whether the best place is in the front of the room or in the back, or even in the corner (I have read several articles suggesting that the corner is the ONLY place to put a sub), I think is going to be an exercise in trial and error. Now, there was no way my wife was going to accept a subwoofer cable snaking around the baseboard of our family room, so using the in-wall pre-installed RG6 cable was the only way I was going to be able to experiment with the rear of the room.
3. I like the idea of dual subs--I have thought about doing the same thing, myself.
St. Louis Blues
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Hawk- If you had to choose Rotel 1055 v. Nad T763- what would you say? Getting ready to pull the trigger- and now that the Rotel's are coming down a bit- they may be a consideration.
Either one would be more than welcome in my house! That said, I like the NAD a bit better--the sound is warmer and fuller as it has more bass information than the Rotel. To me, it just sounds more natural. Besides, the NAD has a lot more power (100 wpc x6 vs 75 wpc x 5)--always a good thing. Finally, I was surprised to learn the Rotel is only rated to handle 8 ohm speakers, unlike the NAD which is stable down to 2 ohm loads. Rotel doesn't even give a 4 ohm power rating.
BTW, love the town and the Blues have long been a sentimental favorite of mine. Has Osgood finally solved the goaltending problems there?
As another fellow Missourian and former St. Louisan, I must say that Osgood has been more stable in goal than some of his predecessors, but the team as a whole has looked horrible lately. They went through a stretch where they were winless in like 15 games in a row. They are flirting with not making the playoffs...which is a shame since they have the longest active playoff streak in any major professional sport. But...I think your Avs are doing pretty well aren't they? Tied for most points in the NHL. But, I digress...
When it comes to ice hockey, I am hopelessly conflicted. I grew up in HockeyTown (Detroit), and later spent a long period of time in the midwest around St. Louis, so I love both teams. Later, I went to college in Los Angeles (I was probably the only person at my university who not only knew who the Los Angeles Kings were, but actually went to games). The last 10 years, I was supporting the Sharks as I lived in the SF Bay area. Now I live in Denver, but I have yet to warm up to the Avs!
I am certainly pulling for the Blues to make the playoffs, but they never should have given up on Hull.
It warms my heart to read that you haven't become an Avs fan. It seems we've tread the same ground. I grew up in Detroit, went to school in LA and now live in the Bay Area. I'm a life-long Wings fan and am warming up to the Sharks who play the blue-collar style the Wings used to play before they went all Hall-of-Fame.
Not only are you knowledgeable on audio topics, you have great taste in hockey!
I would agree with you about Hull. I remember going to a Blues game about 10 years ago when he scored 4 goals (in a game against the Red Wings)...and it happened to be free hat promotion day at the arena...when he scored the third goal it seriously looked as if it was snowing because of all of the white hats flying from everywhere. They stopped the game for over 15 minutes to clean the hats up. It was one of the greatest sporting moments I have ever witnessed in person. Unfortunately, all of the stars of that era are now gone from the Blues...only to be replaced by higher priced/lower achieving players. Just like the Yankees last season...money can't always buy a championship (although it remains to be seen if their new $100 million man can bring it again).
$.02, I am sorry, but you being a Wings fan and I being a Blues fan, I am afraid we cannot post in the same threads any more. Lets just keep our distance from each other. :-) Just kidding! The Wings certainly have owned the Blues the past couple of years. And the Blues/Sharks rivalry definately hasn't disappointed lately either.
Even though I'm a Wings fan, I've always liked the Blues (not because it usually meant two points for the Wings). The Blues keep losing great players, but continue their winning ways with who they have. I'm also pulling for Osgood to do well in St. Louis.
To bring this thread sort of back on topic. I just put together my first (and modest home theater) and love watching hockey games in HD. It's nice to be able to follow the puck for a change. (I upgraded from a ten-year old, 20" Samsung TV.)
I spent the day auditioning a new speaker from paradigm with my new NAD T753. The new speaker is the OW-Monitor 5, which is an acoustic suspension version of the monitor 5 that hangs directly on the wall. It is styled to go with and hang next to plasma screen tvs, so it is a mere six inches deep. Like the Monitor 5, it is a "two and a half way" speaker, with a 1" dome tweeter, a 6.5 inch mid/woofer and a 6.5 inch woofer. Like the regular Monitor 5, the crossover appears to be identical except the crossover frequency from the low woofer to the mid/woofer takes place at 400 hz, instead of the 500 hz crosover frequency for the regular Monitor 5. As I said, it is an acoustic suspension design rather than vented (like the regular Monitor 5).
The sound is quite good. In particular, I was impressed with the depth of the soundstage, especially in light of the fact that the speakers were flat against the wall. It has the typical Paradigm sound--warm, focused, and detailed. I was able to hear some background instruments on Al Sterwart's "Year of the Cat" that I had never been aware of before. SuperTramp's "Crime of the Century" had all of the bite that was intended, but without any harshness that comes from poor electronics or weak speakers. As usual, the sound of the NAD and that of the Paradigm blended beautifully--no anomolous sounds that detracted from the performances. Priced at $569, the OW-Monitor 5s are a very good bargain (discounts are tough to get for Paradigms).
However, it isn't a Studio 40, either. While the sound is large, it isn't expansive like the Studio 40s, and while it doesn't sound boxy, it does sound smaller when compared to its more expensive siblings. Nevertheless, I think the OW-Monitor 5s are a very good speaker and a very worthy candidate in their price range. As an on wall, however, it easily bests most of the competition that I have heard.
BTW--it has been ten days and still no hiss or hum . . .
Icecool
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Anybody out there willing to shed their thoughts on a denon 3803 AU$1980 or a nad 753 AU$2000 with a pair of subsonics xm2's. All help would be appreciated. Thanks Ice
I own both receivers, but I don't know the speakers, at all. I think the NAD is the better sounding receiver, but how it might interact with those speakers, I cannot say.
Anonymous
Posted on
My dealer has confirmed the hiss with NAD and that ALL xx3 units have it and it's normal. So Hawk, EXACTLY how did you manage to get a 753 that doesn't hiss? No cirrus processing in yours?? Give it up already. The hiss is there, even if YOU don't want to admit it. I trust zero of what you have to say now.
Don't listen to this guy. There is no way that any NAD dealer (at least one that knows anything) would tell anyone that a "hiss" is normal. This simply is not true. If it is normal, then why are there so many reports of "hiss free" xx3 models? I guess all of them are liars too?
i've listened to 2 units recently in shops that had no hum or hiss (i was specifically listening for any abnormal noises...so much that i paid less attention to overall detail). one was a 762, the other a 763...at different shops. i'm under the impression that there are noise free units out there...but it seems that there are quite a few troubled units as well. i wouldn't count on the dealer relaying the absolute truth regarding the matter. for him to say the whole line has the problem...he would have had to heard it from nad. if he heard it from nad...then the dealers wouldn't be exchanging units for the problem. also, if the dealer knows the consumer prefers the nad sound, but may exchange it due to the hiss...telling them all units have a hiss may prevent them from returning the unit.
anyway...i have heard hiss free units. i have to hope there are more out there...as i may be getting a 763 or 773.
On a similar note, I'm contemplating a T753/763, and while discussing the hiss/hum issue with my dealer, was told that almost all high-wattage receivers have some amount of noise - something to do with the entire noise floor being amplified along with the signal. Now I'm no audiophile, so I do not know if this is complete hogwash. But the 763 I auditioned was completely silent.
As an aside, heard from PSB that the entire Image series is being updated (atleast for Europe)... some cosmetic changes (light maple finish and silver/grey grills) and a few additional models. They expect to start shipping late April. The new finish completely swung the Wife Acceptance Factor, and now i have to wait a couple of months for my HT set-up...
I am very interested in what you have to say about the Image update. I have Image fronts and center, but have had to wait awhile to purchase the surrounds. I have the black finish currently...do you know if this specific finish will change cosmetically? I don't want surrounds that look different from the rest of the speakers. Are the internal parts still the same? I hope they will blend well with the current Image speakers. Any additional info you can provide would be appreciated. I am going to visit a PSB dealer this weekend...I will report my findings as well...two heads are better than one!
I don't question that some NAD receivers have a hiss/hum issue, but what I can say for sure is this: The NAD receiver I have right now is the quietest receiver/amp I've lived with. I heard more "white noise" from Parasound, Marantz, and Audio Analogue units.
I don't doubt you. I think all brands sometimes unleash troubled units. From the multitude of receiver owners around the globe only a handful appear on this forum to air their views. And it is likely that a few of those with problems would seek out forums like this to vent their spleens. Our Marantz Sr7300 gives no noises or any glitches apart from the fact that it runs hot in extreme conditions - an issue easily resolved with a small fan.
So, are certain brands being unfairly treated? Unless we could get our hands on manufacturers records we have know way of knowing. Porches, Bentleys, Rollers, Ferraris have their share of problems as well - and who wouldn't want one!
The main issue lies with the dealer's integrity - in that when all is said and done, the customer is satisfied!
I wasn't implying Marantz receivers are unusually noisy or problematic. In fact, my introduction to hifi was through an old Marantz receiver, through which music seemed to bloom. I only wanted to point out that the hum/hiss issue does not affect all NAD receivers, as a previous poster incorrectly claimed, and in fact the NAD's quietness is actually a strong point.
I hope you're enjoying your Marantz receiver as much as I did mine!
Sorry - I didn't think you were implying that. I was just agreeing that NAD is not alone with problems. I was only trying to point out that while some brands do release a batch here and there with defects, that overall the majority may well be trouble free but that we really have no way of knowing the percentages.
Even when we pay for quality products we are not immune to problems (thus the reference to quality cars). My wife and I are absolutely rapt in the sound from the 7300 and feel fortunate compared to those running back and forth to their dealers and not getting the satisfaction they deserve. BTW I think there would be countless NAD owners enjoying their excellent 100% trouble free receivers. I was almost one of them!
Do you feel the T753 is powerful enough to drive a set of speakers for a Home Theater? Right now I just have the PSB Image 5T's, but I'm thinking of adding the 8C center as well as two surrounds (maybe 10S), and a subwoofer. I don't have a lot of experience with HT setups, but I'm guessing I need a lot of juice to drive all those speakers. I noticed that the T753 and T763 differ a fair bit in their power output (see below, copied from manuals). So obviously the T763 would be better able to drive all those speakers. But it also costs a lot more. I guess I'm just wondering if the T753 would also be up to the task. I mean, I'm not planning to drive everything at full volume. :-)
Thanks for any insight.
T753: (8 ohms within rated distortion) 2 x 90W (19.5 dBW) IHF dynamic power; 8 ohms 2 x 150W (21.7 dBW) IHF dynamic power; 4 oh ms 2 x 200W (23 dBW) Power output Surround Mode 6 x 70W (18.45 dBW)
T763: (8 ohms within rated distortion) 130W (21.1 dBW) IHF dynamic power; 8 ohms 2 x 210W (23.22 dBW) IHF dynamic power; 4 oh ms 2 x 300W (24.77 dBW) Power output Surround Mode 6 x 100W (20 dBW)
I suspect the 753 would do just fine with a full HT. I have not yet received all of my speakers yet (still on order from the manufacturer), but I note that your 5Ts are very efficient speakers--91 db/1 watt/1 meter. It also has a 6 ohm niminal impedence (4 ohm minimum), so you are getting more power out of the 753 than the published spec into 6 speakers. Also, that receiver is probably 80 wpc when only driving 5 speakers instead of 6 (into 8 ohms). Assuming you don't have an really enormous sized room, I think you would find the 753 has more than enough power to drive a full PSB home theater speaker system.
I have a very large room, but I must admit I was torn between the 753 and the 743, which although only rated at 50 wpc, kicks the butt of my Denon 3803 (rated at 110 wpc--yeah, right!). And that is with speakers not nearly as efficient as yours. So, I believe the 753 would have more than enough power for your needs.
I second Hawks' comments. I have an earlier model NAD (760) with a touch less power even than the 753 - it is 5 x 60W. I drive KEF speakers which average about 88 dB, so they should require twice the power of the PSBs for the same volume. When I listen to DVD-A's no-one can stand to be in the ADJACENT room. When we all watch an action movie the dog runs out in terror.
The only time I got the receiver so hot it went into overload protection was playing an action movie before I bought a sub, so it was using low efficiency, large, main speakers to reproduce the LFE channel, driven of course by the power amp stages of the receiver (it sounded good by the way). If you are getting an active sub its own amp takes on all the heavy work for the lower frequencies, and so you have an extra safety margin.
I think you will find the 753 more than powerful enough.
Thanks very much Hawk and John A, I appreciate your comments.
I also noticed the T763 adds a third component video input as well as an RS-232 port, which I assume is used to upgrade the firmware. Nice extras, but I think I'll be just as happy without them.