I'm new to this forum and know relatively little about high-end audio, but I hope that doesn't stop anyone from giving me some good advise.
I have an old NAD set: C317 stereo receiver + C540 cd-player + C440 tuner, connected to 2 KEF Q55.2 speakers.
I loved the sound of the audio with this set, and did see no need to upgrade in any way at the moment. But then there was surround. I would like to have surround sound when I watch a movie. Doesn't need to be as good quality as when I listen to a cd, but still I'd like it to be better than the all-in-one budget JVC/Sony/etc.
So I bought a secondhand surround receiver from NAD: T742 , together with a T512 DVD player.
Now I haven't got it in house yet, get it sunday, but I'm wondering wether I should: - use the T742 for surround AND stereo cd playing - use the T742 for surround and my old C317 for cd's
If I use only the T742, will the sound of cd's be dramatically worse than with my old, more powerfull, C317 or will it be hardly hearable? And can I also use both devices somehow, with my KEF's as main speakers for the C317 AND the Surround? I read something about pre-amp options, does that mean I can connect the T742 to the C317, and than use the main channels of the C317 and the surround channels of the T742?
I know this is quite a story, and most of it is probably google-findable, but I'm quite new to this all and find it hard to find credible information. Actually, if I can make my questions in one sentence it would be:
"Look at my audio-equipment and tell me what the best set-up would, considering that the quality of the sound of cd's in stereo would be the most important to me"
Thanks in advance, Vincent
My equipment: NAD C317, C540, C440, T742, T512, KEF Q55.2, and soon a small set of secondhand surround speakers and a subwoofer.
Use your CD player and the T742 for music, forget the DVD for music unless there's video attached. Don't go the route of using the old receiver in place of the front channels on the T742, you'll have such a mess of cables, switches and remotes that it isn't worth it.
Listen to the basic system and decide whether what you hear is as good as what you had. Remember that if you change the speaker position, you also change the sound in some way. Compare apples to apples.
If you don't think it sounds good, come back at that point and we'll make more recommendations. But don't worry about this until you have it all put together and have listened for a few weeks. Getting used to a new component might be all it takes.