Calling on NAD T-763 and Pioneer (Elite) VSX 56TXI Owners!

[hockey]

As a relatively new audio/ video enthusiast, I am in the process of purchasing an a/v receiver. I have narrowed my choice to between the NAD T-763 and the Pioneer ( Elite) VSX 56TXI. The receiver I choose will be powering PSB Goldi's (front), PSB Bronze's (rear) and a PSB centre speaker.I will possibly add a 2nd centre speaker at the rear at a later date. Both receivers come highly recommended by my local dealer. Although, he is a dealer for both these products, he seems to be slightly favoring the Pioneer Elite. The NAD T-763 is rated at 100 watts x 6 and the Pioneer (Elite) VSX 56TXI at 110 watts x 7. The receiver will be used for 50% music and 50% H/T. Your assistance in answering the following questions would be greatly appreciated.

Questions:

1.The NAD T-763 is rated at 100 watts x 6. This, I believe to be true due to NAD's full disclosure policy. The Pioneer (Elite) VSX 56TXI is rated at 110 watts x 7. Is the Pioneer
rating of 110 watts x 7 truly accurate?

2. Do both NAD and Pioneer Elite use the same methods/ standards when reporting power ratings?

3.The NAD T-763 and the Pioneer (Elite) VSX 56TXI are almost equal in weight and both appear to be very well-built.Does one have a better power supply than the other?

4. The Pioneer has an auto calibration system and the NAD does not. How important is this for an inexperienced person setting up a Home/ THeatre system?

5.I will likely keep the receiver that I purchase for a long time. Could you please comment on the reliability of the NAD T-763 and the Pioneer (Elite) VSX 56TXI?

6.Which receiver do you believe would be more user friendly for a family with teens?

7.Which receiver ( NAD T-763 )or ( Pioneer Elite VSX 56TXI ) represents the best value for the money and which is better equipped to handle technology changes down the road?

Any additional comments and/or suggestions which might be useful in helping me make my final decision, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time and advice!

Hockey

[LEAFS264]

Trust me when I tell you.......not one of these two receivers can drive a system like that. The Gold's are one of the most current sucking speakers out there. Do your self a BIG favor and buy a cheeper receiver and look for a good used amp on Places like audiogon and audioden. I owed the gold's and they are a great speaker.....but NEED LOTS OF POWER TO DRIVE THEM. Even the Silveri's I have now are not easy to drive. I went out and picked up a Nad C272 amp to drive the Silveri's. You really need more with full range speakers all around like you aer lucky enough to have.

Jay

[Geoffcin]

7.Which receiver ( NAD T-763 )or ( Pioneer Elite VSX 56TXI ) represents the best value for the money and which is better equipped to handle technology changes down the road?

Any additional comments and/or suggestions which might be useful in helping me make my final decision, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time and advice!

Hockey

Auto calibration can make a big difference in how good your HT sounds. Pioneer has perfected this over the years, and the newer TXI receivers are very good at it. Here's a link to a website you can get a review of the similar powered Pioneer VSX-55TXI.

http://www.hometheatermag.com/receivers/

[kexodusc]

Interesting choices...for 50/50 music & movie use, I think I'd actually go with the Pioneer...it's got more features, and it should be a bit cheaper if I recall...the power difference between these two receivers is probably going to be minimal...Pioneer makes beefy amps, if one of thes is insufficient, I wouldn't feel comfortable cranking the dial up on the other without external amplification. We're talking maye 1 dB or 2dB tops here (unless NAD's receiver ratings are as conservative as their older amp ratings).

I can't imagine even the Gold's needing much more power unless your room is huge, but if that's the case, scale back the receiver a bit and buy an amp or two. I passed up a NAD receiver to get a Yamaha with less power, but more features, then used the money I saved to buy some better power amps...better sound, more power, and more features in the end. Just makes a mess of wires having 3 power amps and receiver in my a/v rack.

But before you do anything, listen to both of these, and if one really grabs you or turns you off, you have your answer...

[Tahoe Gator]

I will be the other voice: get the NAD. I will caveat right off I know nothing about the Pioneer, but I own the T763's bigger brother, the T773, which is the 3rd NAD receiver I have owned (other 2 still working just fine). Don't concentrate so much on max wattage. The methodoloy used, "watts RMS", is measured using a sign wave (a sustained tone), not music. Music is much more dynamic, so it is really the reserve power of an amp that matters more, e.g., so it can handle the peak. That is how NAD builds their amps because their target customer often could care less about wattage. NAD's roots are in music and makes 30 watt amps that will perform much better than amps claiming 3x. Here is another reason: simplicity. If Apple built audio, it might be like NAD. Simply put, NADs are not complicated by extra features you'll seldom need nor understand. Simple menus, no fancy effects that sound neato for about 15 seconds, very intuitive remote, etc. One other reason I like it which, I will admit, makes no sense musically: I like the look of the NAD and the fact that it is a less-seen brand. Oh, and as far as reliablity, of the 6 NAD pieces I have owned over the last 20 years (all still in use), twice I have had repairs performed: an amp that was in a metal wire rack stand got wet while powered up when I overwatered a plant above it (dumb, I know) and a stereo receiver's FM tuner shorted with a lightning strike (back when I didn't use power strips).

Final note, consider visiting http://www.saturdayaudio.com/ and looking at the NAD stuff they have. Very competitive prices and a great deal right now (which I am considering for another room) on a T163/S520 ("deals" page) which might solve the speaker issue someone mentioned above. Note: i have no affiliation with those guys, just discovered them when living in Chicago.

[Geoffcin]

In that one; Either of these receivers will drive your Gold's with no problem. I am using a "lesser" Pioneer Elite receiver than the TXI-55, and it was easily capable of driving my Magnepans in a pinch.

And two; That EITHER receiver is well built, and will be a good choice. I've owned Pioneer produces for over 25 years, and I've only managed to burn one up. Even that one was unbelievably abused before it went (3 sets of difficult to drive speakers at party levels for 4 hr's or so) . I own two Pioneer receivers now, and I am still VERY demanding on them (I don't do the 3 speaker set thing anymore), but I've yet to do any damage to them. I would expect the same level of quality from the NAD also.

I DO stick by my first comment though; All things being equal, AUTO calibration would definitely put it over the top for me. Auto calibration is BETTER than 99% of what a lay person could do at home with a modest SPL meter. Proper levels and speaker distance are ABSOLUTELY necessary to having your HT perform correctly. I would advise you to ask Terrence T about this, as he does it professionally.

[LEAFS264]

[QUOTE=Geoffcin]In that one; Either of these receivers will drive your Gold's with no problem. I am using a "lesser" Pioneer Elite receiver than the TXI-55, and it was easily capable of driving my Magnepans in a pinch.


Go ahead, try to drive 2 pairs of 4olm speakers with the 56txi and see what happens.
Your going trip the protection on the receiever. Pioneer say's that that receiver would be ok for a pair of 4olm speakers in two channel stereo mode only. They do NOT recomend driving 2 pairs of these in a 5.1 set up. Give them a call or e-mail if you don't trust what i'm saying. Your getting some very bad advice here!! Call a local PSB dealer and ask a sales rep just how hard to drive the Stratus line really is. It easy for people who haven't owned a pair,to say "should be no problem at all".


Just remember....it is better to be safe than sorry.

Jay

[Rock789]

I looked at the nad t-743 and the pioneer elite vsx 54tx... both were very nice and had great sound. I ended up going with a denon avr 2805 for the inputs (the only reason)

not being familar with your speakers, but hearing they are 4ohm, the nad would probably be the better option, although I am told the pioneer elite can do 4ohm...

you said the 2 receivers are the same weight, well the pioneer elite has one additional amp channel so just looking at this, the nad seems to have a beefier power supply...

if there is any doubt, get a nice amp for these speakers

[Geoffcin]

Go ahead, try to drive 2 pairs of 4olm speakers with the 56txi and see what happens.
Your going trip the protection on the receiever. Pioneer say's that that receiver would be ok for a pair of 4olm speakers in two channel stereo mode only. They do NOT recomend driving 2 pairs of these in a 5.1 set up. Give them a call or e-mail if you don't trust what i'm saying. Your getting some very bad advice here!! Call a local PSB dealer and ask a sales rep just how hard to drive the Stratus line really is. It easy for people who haven't owned a pair,to say "should be no problem at all".


Just remember....it is better to be safe than sorry.

Jay

Fully 90% or better of all the power required in 5.1 HT is used in the front 3 speakers. The Pioneer can deliver about 200 watts into 4 ohms for the mains. I think that would be adiquate. Also, even if the surrounds are 4 ohm speakers, the possibilty that you are going to draw even 10 watts into them is pretty remote. I've yet to measure even a 90db SPL from my surrounds, and that was with the volume well past "normal" listening levels. Of course if you would like to run BOTH these 4 ohm speakers in A+B stereo then there might be a problem. I would NOT approve of that.