I wonder if you guys could help me. 75% music 25% movies Ii½m trying to decide between the NAD T-753 and the Denon 3806 or the new incoming 2807. The thing is hat everyone I ask about, tells me that NAD has much better sound quality over the Denon, but on the other hand I see the postings and cani½t stop reading about the buzz or hum on the NAD. So are those noises very noticeable and I should go for the Denon, or not. Or you cani½t tell the difference between the sound quality of this amps but I should go for the Denon because it has more features. Or go for the NAD because of his great sound, besides the noise is not noticeable.
I think the new Denon AVR 2807 at 110 watts/channel is even better than their more expensive AVR 3806. The 3806 doesn't upconvert analog signals to HDMI encoded ones, while the soon to be released 2807 does. No doubt, the newer engineering and design helps the 2807 in this area. The 2807 also has 7 amps and allows the 6th and 7th amp to drive speakers in your house or even separately to drive stereo front speakers. It just won the CES 2006 show as best piece of home audio, probably because it gives so much at a good price. It includes the MultiEQ Audyssey speaker balancing system and has a hook-up for XM radio (you just connect an XM antenna and pay XM radio for a subscription). It can pass 1080p through HDMI, so it seems fairly future-proof for HDTV and even HD and Blu-Ray signals.
The NAD T753 while very good for audio (and with 7 amps I don't doubt the Denon 2807 is quite good too), doesn't have many features that the Denon possesses: from HDMI, Room EQ (Audyssey), XM radio ready, upconversion of analog signals, etc.
When encoded signals for HDTV becomes law the Denon is ready. The NAD isn't. HDMI and firewire (maybe USB too) will become the de facto connections for most video/audio purposes for those that watch high definition video and broadcasts along with Hi-Rez audio. Obviously, for audiophile stereo listeners (and die-hard believers in analog multi-channel there will always be a market for analog devices and regular wiring. But the future for most people will be digital.
In my view, the NAD presentation is far more musical than the Denon. Yes, the NAD hasn't got the feature count and yes they can be noisy occasionally, but musically, they they're more engaging, fluid and cohesive than the Denon.
Then again, if you're only watching movies 25% of the time, why not investigate spending the same money on a decent 2-channel amp? The results will be far superior to either the T753 or the Denons.