Budget reccomendations for NAD 7225PE

[sibellc]

Hi,

I recently began reading about high(er) end audio, and and picked up a used NAD 7225PE receiver to replace the main unit of a 7 year old Sony mini-system, which had decent speakers considering they're from a mini-system. I'm wondering what sort of budget upgrades i could make to a this setup that i would receive noticeable improvement from. I currently have basic radio-shack interconnects, the stock pre-out/power-in jumpers and a 4 year old basic Technics 5-cd changer and an old Technics SL-b200 turntable with a pickering DLE cartridge.

My budget would be about $40-50 for a pair of interconnects, $130 for a CD-player, $60-80 for a cartridge, etc... (Used/Ebay is fine)

In what order should i perform upgrades? Would better jumpers make a difference? Would i need a better pre-amp to gain noticeable improvement from anything else? I listen mostly to classical on CD and classic rock on LP

I'm really quite new to this, and really wishing i had the cash to burn on the Krell KAV400xi and Martin Logan Ascent I speakers I listened to recently :)

Thanks,

Cody

[psonic]

For a CD player the Rotel RCD-855 or 955 are a good value right now in that price range (along with later models), used from ebay or audiogon of course.

You should also be using 12 or 14 awg speaker cable...go to home depot or lowes electrical department where they sell it by the foot. I am using home depot 12awg outdoor extension cable, it's good. Make each side the same length also, this is very important.

Radio shack interconnects are decent actually, but buy a short set for that jumper from pre-out to main in. They are garbage quality, I used to have a NAD integrated.

Most importantly play with speaker positioning, try speakers 5-8 ft apart and with no toe-in and same distance to rear wall. Center yourself 8-12 ft back and see what works.

[dean_martin]

I built a nice system around this receiver starting with a pair of Acoustic Energy Aegis One speakers. (They replaced an old pair of KLHs.) The AE's original price was $300 a pair, but went down to $250, then $200 before being replaced last year. I've seen'em on ebay. I replaced an older Technics cdp with one from AMC with minor improvements. I think you might find your biggest improvement in replacing your speakers. I also think that Technic's underrated MASH system, whatever it is, stands up pretty well compared to some Burr-Brown dacs.

Your receiver has a good tuner and good line-level and phono preamp sections. I wouldn't worry about a new preamp. In the future you might add a beefier amp like a 50-100 watts per channel NAD, Rotel, Adcom or Acurus. These can be had pretty cheap on the used market. I think if you ever need more power, but are budget constrained, the NAD receiver would make a great little preamp.

I got OK performance out of running a Technics turntable/ Shure cart. with my receiver, but realized a significant improvement in replacing it with an older Dual model off ebay. I think what contributed to its warm, inviting sound was its cart made by Ortofon for Dual. I was lucky in that the cart (although original) had very few hours on it. Unfortunately, the table only lasted a couple of years before mechanical failures caused me to retire it.

For $80 or less you can find carts made by Grado (like the Green), Shure and Audio Technica. But, if you're thinking of taking the plunge and getting a new table, post over in the analog forum for recommendations.

I passed my receiver on to my son when I upgraded to seperates, but I still remember the NAD/Acoustic Energy/Dual system providing many great late night listening sessions. This was the first system that allowed me to really appreciate how good vinyl can sound. Sorry for the nostalgia. - Tim

[Beckman]

My budget would be about $40-50 for a pair of interconnects, $130 for a CD-player, $60-80 for a cartridge, etc... (Used/Ebay is fine)


People argue a lot on this website about how much improvement you an get from a particular part or component (cables, interconnects, cd players, etc.)

In your case I think there would be no argument as to how to best improve the sound of your system, new speakers.

Cables, interconnects, cd players can only marginally affect sound quality (if at all), but speakers affect sound quality more than anything. I would save up a little more money and invest in a good quality pair of speakers. For your price range you should be able to pick a decent pair of JBL or Infinity speakers at your local consumer electronics store.