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| I'm about to buy a receiver & i really don't know which one to buy, Your experience will help, the 2 have pretty much same specs. / same price.. |
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TheLurker | Nir E, I have lurked in the shadows here for quite some time and truly enjoyed reading posts and recommendations but this time I just had to chime in. To tell you the truth I'm surprised one of the many ecoustic forum resident NAD advocates hasn't popped on and told you to buy the NAD. Maybe it's because the Rotel rsx-1055 isn't one of those receivers you can kick sand into it's face as they do with the Yamaha, Denon, HK and Marantz products when they compare them to the NAD. Sound wise it is a big winner and it is by all means better built and free of defects that you will find with many NAD T 7** receivers. My advise is pay a little more for the Rotel and you will never regret it. I can't wait and see if someone will actually post that NAD is better then Rotel or even on the same playing field, if they do they are surely talking out their backsides!! Not saying Rotel is the best out there but it is most definitely a notch above NAD. |
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elitefan | Please do not mention H/K and Marantz in the same catagory with Denon and Yamaha. These brands have very different sonic characteristics and power supplies. As far as comparing NAD to Rotel you are way overdoing it. They are in fact, on exactly the same playing field. Both are on the upper tier of receivers and should be considered by anyone looking for a top notch receiver. There are a couple of others but these two are for sure in that league. It's great that you like Rotel so much; I do to. It bugs me that both Rotel and NAD are so skimpy on their inputs. Both brands only have 6 inputs on their units of my interest. Rotel 1055 or 1065 and NAD 753 and 763. I can't use either one because of this. For the price of these units 6 inputs is ridiculous. |
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matthew dow | Nir - two weeks ago I purchased both of the receivers you are thinking of. I bought them both because I had a seven day return policy on each of them, and there is no way to compare them head to head with your own speakers without lugging them to the stereo shop (assuming the same shop carries both receivers). I ended up keeping the NAD because it just sounds better to me. The bass is more clearly defined, the soundstage is larger, and the separation is better. CD after CD, I found that my music just sounds better on the NAD. Don't get me wrong, if I had to keep the Rotel, I would not have minded. It looks great, the remote is better than NAD and it sounds really good. Just not as good as the NAD - with my music and my speakers (Paradigm Studio 80). The NAD also has more inputs, plus built in 6.1 as well as more power. The Rotel sounds great - just a little leaner than the NAD. If you weren't doing a side by side comparison the differences wouldn't be quite so obvious. But you have to find out what sounds good to you. They are both quality receivers and worth every penny. As for theLurkers comments, "better" is subjective in the case of receivers. The Rotel remote is 'better' to me, but the NAD music is 'better' to me. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. |
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Paul T | Great post Matthew, I just bought a pair of Paradigm Studio 20v3's, do to limited space that's as big as I could get but they are an incredible speaker.. Love them. It was great to hear your review of the NAD, my present Yamaha never sounded so good but I want to get something better for the Studios and been leaning hard toward the NAD T742 or T752. The NAD T742 has a "rated" power of 50wpc which is 25wpc less then my yamaha research tells me the NAD's 50wpc will out do Yamaha's 75wpc. Something is telling me I should go to the NAD T752 for a little more clean power. What are your thoughts since your driving Studio's with a NAD? |
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matthew dow | Paul - my thoughts are that I can't wait to get home and put on some CDs. Keep in mind my last receiver was a dolby pro logic kenwood with who knows how little power (a.k.a. sounds like hell). I don't know offhand how much power the 742 has vs the 752, but I'll tell you that the 762 seems to have plenty of power in reserve. I've only taken it up to about -5db on the volume meter. I'm not sure how loud that is - loud enough for me anyway. There has never been any sign of strain from the receiver. I haven't listened to any Yamahas so I won't comment on that. Like I said, I hemmed and hawed over the Rotel - you may actually want to listen to it, seeing as how the 20s have considerably less bass than my 80s. My guess is that the 752 will be plenty for your speakers, assuming you don't need 6.1 right away. You should be able to find a great deal on one since the new xx3s are coming out. Best of luck. |
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Anonymous | any ideal on what amp can power the PWR215 Series Loudspeakers from mtx, Im trying to avoid buying a DJ stye amp. I want these speakers for surround sound. Their rated at 4 ohms. Just trying to cut my time instead of surfing all over the place. Thanks. |
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Anonymous | try a seventies receiver from rotel.i have just returned a modern NAD amp to a shop.its warm clean detailed and has character.even a sense of humour.most modern hi fi sounds crap. don,t shell out on valves.ignore the press.you wont be depressed like i was after my nad experience. |
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matt | All SACD analog inputs are processed in analog mode in ROTEL however I am not sure abot NAD . They have this stereo analog bypass mode thingy which I am not sure. Are the 6.1 analog inputs from SACD processed in analog domain in NAD? |
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Nir E. | Hey Guys & thanks for your replies, I really don't know what to do next, i had many ppl telling me about the reliability issues, bugs and loud fan noise of the NAD, my speakers are the MISSION 775 series (+ 771e's & 77c). i'm thinking of using the ROTEL or the NAD as a pre-amp and to drive my rears & center and buy another 2 ch amp. for the 775's. But after all the posts i still couldn't decide. If i had the opprtunity of buying them both & compare i would do that, but i don't have ROTEL/NAD retailers so close to my house. Anyways, the NAD T763 just came out... maybe now i'll get a decision with your help ??? -Thanks ! |
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New member Username: BebaumaxPost Number: 1 Registered: 12-2003 | Nir E. What is your budget? Have you considered purchasing used? I've owned (not just heard), Denon (avr5600), Yamaha (rx-v1). I've spent hours and hours listening to the NAD T763 and B&K AVR 507. I know the AVR507 is $1k more list, but it destroyed the NAD. I also like the B&K Ref 30 and Ref 50. If you do much stereo listening, just pure music, see about a used B&K if you're not oppoed to purchasing used. I have separate setups for 2-channel and a dedicated home theater. My 2-channel uses an NAD S100 Silverline preamp. I REALLY like it. Because it adds nothing, in my opinion. It's sound is perfect (to me). It's functionality/usability/remote are all absolutely annoying, but I don't care, it has remote volume, good enough. The NAD/BAT (VK-200 amp)/Arcam (CD-33T) separates replaced a Rotel setup. I thought the Rotel was very warm, and I do love the sound, but it's a colored sound.. it adds something. I prefer the real sound, when done right. Back to HT. I think the Yamaha destroys the Denon for HT. I auditioned the 5803, I can actually say it sucks. I used to be Mr. Denon, too. The lower-end Yamaha receivers don't impress me AT ALL. And their music, across the board, is pretty bad. I now use my RX-V1 as a pre/pro to a Sunfire Cinema 7 Signature. It's better, but I need a new pre/pro. I'm probably going to save and buy the Lexicon MX8(Balanced). Back to receivers, again, it depends on how much you have. I like B&K over NAD. I like NAD over Yamaha/Denon. And Rotel? Well, I've not spent much time with their receivers, however, I'm considering a temporary Rotel pre/pro for the home theater. I've asked dealers, friends, experts, and it's split, some say NAD, some say Rotel. Since you can't A/B, I suggest this, in my opinion. Rotel is warmer, looks nicer, functions easier. It has a better reputation for quality. I also have Rotel's RDV-1080 here, a very nice piece, not incredible, but nice. I think Rotel does a bit better with highs, and mid-highs, it's a little more on par with the B&K. As for NAD, I was, honestly, disappointed in the T763, but it went head-to-head with B&K's AVR507, an unfair comparison. It did lose a lot in the highs in that comparison, and my biggest peave, clarity. It lost a bit of the clarity I love so much. That means voices. I don't hear words well, they are often garbled to me for some reason. Picking blindly, I'd probably go with the Rotel if it's the same price with the same features. I threw in my random details there in case any of it matched your listening experiences, likes/dislikes. BTW - home theater speakers are all Energy, my 2-channels are Totem Forrests. All speaker cable and interconnects are home-made except for Acoustic Research temporarily on the RX-V1 to Sunfire as I've not had time to make those yet (and want to wait and build XLR balanced). Note, the Acoustic Research RCA audio cables are of a "balanced" design of sorts, and are far superior to almost of the 2-5x priced Monster Cable junk that's out there (this one isn't opinion, it's fact, I'll explain interconnect design to any of the Monster-lovers). |
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Hammersmith Unregistered guest | Something to strongly consider: > NAD = 2 year warantee > Rotel = 3 year warantee best of luck! |
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New member Username: DmeisterPost Number: 4 Registered: 12-2003 | Actually, Rotel has a 5-year warranty on their receivers and processors. |
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New member Username: BebaumaxPost Number: 2 Registered: 12-2003 | To follow up on my "considering", I went and got a Rotel RSP-1066 for a pre/pro. I liked the sound over using my Yamaha RX-V1 as my pre/pro, but it ended there. The quality of the unit was well below par, especially for Rotel. The rear (not surrounds, the rear in a 6.1/7.1 setup) test tones also came out the left and front mains speakers. The volume didn't work well, didn't adjust. Sometimes went to full and could not be stopped or sent back down until it reached max. Not a good idea when you have 400watts/channel available. The clarity was improved, the room dynamics went down. It didn't wrap sound like the Yamaha and didn't fill the room with that theater-like feel. Overall, it was a loser and went back to the dealer. Same day, I stopped at several places on the way home. I decided I liked the clarity of voices in movies. I have a hard time understanding what people say when they talk and I couldn't go back to the straining I had to do with the Yamaha. It came down to the Integra 9.4-DTC pre/pro or the B&K Ref 50 pre/pro. Both were the same price from the guy I buy from; good guy. (If you live in PA, Jeff @ http://www.surround-sounds.com/ ) The Integra has an awesome 2-channel pure-direct listening mode if you're doubling for your 2-channel stuff, I'm not. It's a little brighter than the B&K. If you have bright speakers or a bright amp, it's probably not the best choice. It was very good, though. The B&K is a little more configurable, I think, and a little warmer, not as warm/colored as Rotel, but nice. It's 7-channel stereo turns out to be awesome (I think I just tipped my hand on which one I got). Overall, I just felt like for home theater listening the B&K was the best pre/pro I'd heard yet. I did listen to Integra Research earlier that day, but it was on a poorly configured system, incredible sound positioning, pathetic clarity and detail... Can't blame the pre/pro (I don't think, as this happened at this particular store once before when sampling speakers). There you have it. I like the B&K stuff in the Rotel/NAD pricepoint, you can usually spend an extra hundred or two and get B&K. I say it's worth it. Note: B&K is a 5-year warranty as well. |