I'm on the quest for the 'near-perfect' receiver -- well, within my price range anyway. After countless trips to my local reseller and looking through every audio forum I can find, I've narrowed my search down to two receivers; as you may have guessed from the title, they are the Arcam ARV300 and the NAD T773. Now the Arcam is a little more expensive but I'm comfortable with the price of either so it's not really an issue. I'm planning to do an A-B test this weekend but, before I do, I was hoping to get some perspectives. The primary use will be HT, although there will be some time spent just listening to music (90/10). The receiver will drive seven speakers (the M&K 750 system + 2 M&K SW85s).
Based on a number people in different forums (including this one), I do have some concern with the quality of the NAD. I started looking into this after two of two T773s had issues at the shop I'm looking to use (D to A converter / rear channel). The NAD rep says that HW / FW upgrades have dealt with these problems but I'm not entirely convinced. With that said, I'm not convinced there is a problem either -- just .... uncomfortable.
Anyway, with all of that said, I am looking on some perspectives as which receiver to go with. Thoughts?
I have a T773 I've had for several months now and it has performed flawlessly for me. Like you I am heavy on the HT moreso than music and all I can say is I am extremely satisfied. I was formerly a Yamaha owner before switching to the NAD I now own.
Like you I too was very reluctant to buy NAD because of the negative posts here but eventually because of the positive recommendations I was given I went to my local dealer who has nothing but good things to say about them. I tested a T753 and T763 in his store, then he let me test the T763 in my home with my speakers and that sold me. None of the 4 NAD units in the T7x3 line had any issues whatsoever in my tests.
I upgraded to the T773 because the extra bucks was not a deal breaker and I figured the extra power never hurts as I have a very large room. The T763 would have done fine if money was an object though as it was also awesome.
As far as Arcam I can't really speak for them personally but I know they are excellent. In fact in conversation, my NAD dealer told me in his opinion in the price-range of the NADs I was looking at they would be his other primary consideration as he was very impressed with them but he didn't carry Arcam.
That is one man's opinion who I value because I know his reputation but not to say there aren't other good ones too. HK is one that comes to mind.
Finally I have Paradigm speakers but the audition I did at my dealer was with M&K's and personally I liked what I heard and what my local NAD dealer primarily carries.
Regardless, you can do your comparison and make up your own mind but I think you are in a win-win situation. Good luck.
I have an Arcam AVR300. It replaces a NAD T763. I did side by side tests before purchasing the Arcam. I found the Arcam to have more open, more detailed, warmer, smoother, and more musical sound. Compared to the Arcam, the NAD sounded compressed, very digital and lacking dynamic range. The processors in the Arcam appear to be much more sophisticated. Although my NAD operated flawlessly, it did not deliver the quality of sound that I would expect of this caliber of receiver. My vote goes with Arcam - without reservations. Feel free to email me if you have any questions or need any more information.
I have a 773 and am happy w/it so far. I haven't listened to the arcam. I know you said price is not a concern, but the ACTUAL prices (not list) of the 2 units are quite different. The NAD lists at 1800 but can be had from authorized online dealers like yawa for approx $1450, w/no tax and little or no shipping. The arcam lists at $2000, and to my knowledge, is sold w/minimal discounting (0-10%) and at stores only (thus, add sales tax). So, overall, the difference can be appox. $500-700. For that premium, I would hope the Arcam sounds MUCH better than the NAD.
bigfan thats basically what i said the arcam is in a leauge just above the nad.
but it's nice to see the price justifies itself as it's not allways the case!
so if spending more money gets you a better product and you don't mind spending the extra money then their really isn't a choice to make get the better unit.
I have a 773 and am happy w/it so far. I haven't listened to the arcam. I know you said price is not a concern, but the ACTUAL prices (not list) of the 2 units are quite different. The NAD lists at 1800 but can be had from authorized online dealers like yawa for approx $1450, w/no tax and little or no shipping. The arcam lists at $2000, and to my knowledge, is sold w/minimal discounting (0-10%) and at stores only (thus, add sales tax). So, overall, the difference can be appox. $500-700. For that premium, I would hope the Arcam sounds MUCH better than the NAD.
Because I have worked reasonably closely with the local reseller, don't want to purchase the receiver off of the internet - just wouldn't be right after all of the time they have invested (including the upcoming head to head test). When I look at the price difference, it's about $600 CDN ($400 US); although that's not insignificant, it would be worth it if there is a dramatic difference in sound. One of the reasons I say this is that I'm building my entire HT from scratch and, when compared to the overall total, it's not a huge percentage.
I appreciate all of the great feedback and will let everyone know what I find.
Daniel Benatar
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I have the NAD T773 and I am very happy with the receiver performance. I have found out that if you want to do it right, you should buy a good DVD player with DVD-A and SACD capability, and play your music through the analog connection. It seems to me more and more that the receiver is not the key player any more as the DVD player is doing the work with converting from digital to analog, and the receiver is just serve as an amplifier. At these days, the receiver DAC is not important at all if you really would like to listen to pure music. You can't compare the DVD-A and or SACD performance to the receiver digital (to analog) performance. Bottom line, my advice is to buy either NAD and or ARCAM, spend good money on speakers, and DVD player with DVD-A and SACD capability. Connect your receiver to the DVD through analog (external) connection and buy SACD and or DVD-A discs. This is the way to do it.
I personally check the ARCAM and found out that I like the NAD sound -- and it was before I have connected the receiver to DVD through analog connection. Today, it's really dosen't mean any thing about the receiver bass management, and or any other function that I am not using them -- as if you want the sound to be like in live show you should set every thing to natural status. I personally have the Snell stand floor speakers with Pioneer DVD player (DVD-A and SACD). And my system performance is amazing!
My side by side test compared the NAD T763 to the Arcam AVR300. Regardless of whether we used the analog 6.1 inputs or the digital input, the Arcam sound was warmer, smoother, much more detailed, more musical and more open sounding. The NAD sounded very digital and compressed. Don't underestimate the importance of the D/A converters in the reciever. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want any more information.
By the way, at the time I did the side by side test, I owned the NAD receiver and did not own the Arcam. I had every reason to want the NAD to sound better (or at least as good).
I have no doubt that the Arcam sounded better to you...I am not going to debate that...but just so people know, the two units that you were comparing have a VERY big price difference. The NAD T763 retails at $1300 but can be had for significantly less than that, while as has been stated earlier, the Arcam retails for $1999 and can not be found discounted much less than that. For this type of price difference (when it boils down to it, the Arcam is nearly twice as expensive), the Arcam should sound better. The extra money obviously largely goes to better components (including D/A converters). Like I said, the Arcam may have indeed sounded better to you, but lets make sure that if we are comparing two units here that we are not comparing "apples and oranges". It is kind of like saying "BMW beats Ford hands down"...well duh!
Go for the Nad T773. With that price diff. you can buy somthing else for your setup! I have a T762, and through analogue in it sounds amazing, as regards to digital conversion, with films it sounds quite good to me.
Just to remind you that the nad is software upgradable plus it have two huge toroidal transformers, which are able to drive any speaker at any load. plus it Covers all the major sound formats
but if the price is not the concern and the overall sound is then my choice is the arcam.
yes if you are trying compare by price then get the nad. to me they should not really be compaired their is a big price difference and a big sound difference.
basically you get what you pay for.
would you pay more for a corvette than a camaro? it depends on your budget and whether you want the extras the corvette gives you.
To tell you the truth, I have never auditioned the Arcam at all. The nearest dealer that sells Arcam is nearly 3 hours away. I am going through there in about 2 weeks, I may have to stop in and give it a listen. My point was not to debate which one sounded better...as obviously I cannot do that honestly. I will have to take your word for it. My point was simply to caution any "passerby" of the thread that the two units you were comparing were very different in price. That's all. You said in an earlier posting that "I have an Arcam AVR300. It replaces a NAD T763". I assume you meant "the Arcam replaced the NAD in MY SYSTEM", but to a casual observer, that implies that both are similar...when in reality they are not in the same league (and not intended to be).
I love Corvettes but I would be happy with a Camaro nonetheless. :-)