Rotel 1062 VS. NAD C352 which one should I buy?

[soundcat]

The winner will drive a pair of B&W CM2's and eventually CM6's or 703's. I'm on a pretty tight budget but am attempting to taste alittle audiophile quality sound. I have read good things about the Rotel and have recently been told by a reputable source the NAD maybe a better match. Any input please, both technical and subjective is welcome. Thanks

[anamorphic96]

The winner will drive a pair of B&W CM2's and eventually CM6's or 703's. I'm on a pretty tight budget but am attempting to taste alittle audiophile quality sound. I have read good things about the Rotel and have recently been told by a reputable source the NAD maybe a better match. Any input please, both technical and subjective is welcome. Thanks

Both amps will be fine in your system. It really comes down to what your ear prefers. The power diffrence is negligible. To some people the Rotel might look better than NAD's plain grey. The NAD is 100 bucks cheaper which is a bonus but if im not mistaken the Rotel has a phono stage which is about what the seperate NAD phone stage would cost which would make the price the same.

The sound of the Rotel is more neutral than the NAD, which is more on the warm side of neutral. If that makes any sense. I ended up going with the C352 myself due to my ears preferring a warmer sound and 100 bucks cheaper. Actually 160 for me because of my loyalty to my dealer over the years.

Either way there both outstanding products.

Cheers,
Glenn

[RGA]

My preference is for the Rotel.

But it's up to you both have good reputations - it's odd your source would say NAD is a better match since B&W and Rotel share distribution and are often matched at reatailers. That in itself doesn't mean it's the ebst match but it is curious.

Also you may want to consider used. take for instance my amp - it retailed new for $2k(1992-1997) with a good quality phono stage - I will soon be upgrading to another amp and this one will likely be sold for $300 to $400.00 and IMO is a better sounding amp than the C372 or any Rotel integrated i've heard. yeah you would not get a warranty but amps typically have LOOOOONG lives.

I would certainly be scouring the stores used sections - even if the names don;t ring an immediate bell - see what's there go home and look the names up on the net and see what people say about them and what speakers they're using. You may get a very good amp for low money and you don;t have to say a taste of high end becuase it will be. Also SS amps don't progress at the rate the magazines would have you believe. The Sugden A21a has been around since 1968 and still wins blind listening tests against current gear. You just need to find somehting that was and is very good.

This is no knock on either amp you're looking at because both are quite good - but I'd go used where I can but make sure you can listen first.