NAD receivers

[kbochat]

Hey group,

I was trying to find something in the forums. Does anyone have any opinions on the NAD receivers??? Sound quality, build, etc., vs. a denon, yamaha or other?

http://www.nadelectronics.com/av_rec...3_frameset.htm

[superpanavision70mm]

I have played various NAD receivers at certain stereo shops over the past few years and I have always enjoyed them. I wouldn't really put them in the same category as Yamaha, but that might just be me personally. I am not really a fan of Yamaha receivers for several reasons. I think they are hard to navigate and setup and too many of their models are lower end, whereas Denon typically make really great receivers...esp. the flagship models that they have, which seem to have a billion inputs and outputs.

What are you looking for in your receiver? Do you want it to have HD inputs/outputs? Does 5.1 input/output important? Do you care about w/ch? What other components will you be hooking up to it? I have only heard NAD receivers with NAD DVD or CD players connected, which could account for some of my 'liking' since they worked together well naturally.

Have you looked into Marantz? Or Pioneer? I have owned several of the Pioneer receivers over the past several years and have always loved them. I am in the process now of upgrading to one of the Elite models. I have listened to them over and over and I am absolutely in love with the VSX-59TXi model, which is their flagship receiver. Only downside is that it's about $3000!!! However, it's a serious beast!!! Weighs about 70lbs and can do just about anything. I am debating whether to just GO FOR IT, or settle for their next model down, which I can get for $1000 and it can do just about the same, but not exactly the same. For me I want something that does HDMI conversion and has lots of inputs and outputs. I also wanted something that is 7.1 and has plenty of optical in's and outs.

I would be glad to help you out further if you could give me more info on your system and what your expectations are.

[kexodusc]

NAD basically starts where the likes of Denon and Yamaha offer their "mid-level" models. When I demoed units for my last receiver purchase, NAD sounded the best of the bunch for music through my CD player. For DVD's and movie watching, the differences were negligible, but the NAD did have more power than anything except possibly the H/K.

Build quality, I believe they've addressed any issues they may have had a few years ago. NAD has a great support network, if you do have problems.

I too, would like to know the answers to superpanavision70mm's questions...we might be able to help you more if we knew more about what you're looking for.

[kbochat]

thanks for the help.

I have been on a couple of different threads trying to figure all this stuff out.

My situation is this. I live in a townhouse that we wired prior to them putting up the drywall.

I have a main room for entertainment that is currently wired for 5.1, but eventually I would like to get up to 7.1 or at least be ready when I decide to move and start all over again.

I have a bedroom, living/kitchen, and a garage also wired for speakers, to allow for easy listening in other rooms. So I guess I am looking for multi-room capabilities, but merely on the sound level. I am not going to try doing video in other rooms, at that point I will just hook into the jack in the wall where the cable is.

I currently have a 32 sony, but I am looking to upgrade the TV later this summer if possible to 50 inch or bigger HDTV of some sorts. I have been looking at the samsung DLP pedistal sets because they look good to me and I just hate having extra TV stand. Story for another time though. So I am looking to basically just feed everything through the receiver and then ultimately through to the TV. Right I am guessing that would just be a mere component out. In the long term HDMI or something "better".

As far as other components, it is pretty standard stuff, VCR, DVD, PS2, soon to get CD changer, and possibly in the future IPOD or other digital music player.

I will admit I am a novice and probably could not tell right off the bat a lot of the differences between boxes. I am though of the mind set that if I am going to do this right and spend some cash that I want something that i can say in 5 years, "yes I have my ____ and I still love it and it does what I want it to do."

As far as budget, I would like to stay under 1000, but i know that is not necessarily realistic either. I know that though that I can't justify 3000 either.

Hope this helps

[DariusNYC]

thanks for the help.

I have been on a couple of different threads trying to figure all this stuff out.

My situation is this. I live in a townhouse that we wired prior to them putting up the drywall.

I have a main room for entertainment that is currently wired for 5.1, but eventually I would like to get up to 7.1 or at least be ready when I decide to move and start all over again.

I have a bedroom, living/kitchen, and a garage also wired for speakers, to allow for easy listening in other rooms. So I guess I am looking for multi-room capabilities, but merely on the sound level. I am not going to try doing video in other rooms, at that point I will just hook into the jack in the wall where the cable is.

I currently have a 32 sony, but I am looking to upgrade the TV later this summer if possible to 50 inch or bigger HDTV of some sorts. I have been looking at the samsung DLP pedistal sets because they look good to me and I just hate having extra TV stand. Story for another time though. So I am looking to basically just feed everything through the receiver and then ultimately through to the TV. Right I am guessing that would just be a mere component out. In the long term HDMI or something "better".

As far as other components, it is pretty standard stuff, VCR, DVD, PS2, soon to get CD changer, and possibly in the future IPOD or other digital music player.

I will admit I am a novice and probably could not tell right off the bat a lot of the differences between boxes. I am though of the mind set that if I am going to do this right and spend some cash that I want something that i can say in 5 years, "yes I have my ____ and I still love it and it does what I want it to do."

As far as budget, I would like to stay under 1000, but i know that is not necessarily realistic either. I know that though that I can't justify 3000 either.

Hope this helps

It seems to me you should be considering build quality, features, ergonomics (interface, remote control, ease of adjustments of input and other factors, etc.) and price point. I personally don't think it makes sense to really focus on the difference in "sound" in similar quality/price receivers. Best in my view to focus on your speakers for that. I recently purchased a NAD L73 5.1 receiver/DVD player combo unit, and I've been very happy with it. It operates sensibly for the most part, has all the features I need, and feels to be of very very high and sturdy build quality. And it looks great. There are a couple annoying quirks (like when I push the eject button on the disc tray it automatically switches the input to DVD, which sucks when I'm just trying to eject last night's movie while a TV show is one), but mostly it's a good unit with a good remote. And it runs my Paradigm Performance Series speakers quite well. I feel very happy with the purchase. I know you were asking about pure a/v receivers, not combo units, but that's my view for what it's worth.

I do note that NAD tends to lag behind on having the latest technology, or it saves it for only the high-end models, so make sure what you're looking at has all the features you're looking for.

[paul_pci]

Actually if you think you're going to get into HD tv and DVDs you may wish to buy a decent receiver for now and wait until they get this HDMI switching thing figured out and then purchase a receiver that will last you for 5 years or so. In the meantime you'll gain experience with a current av receiver and get a solid idea of what you ideal want in a more premanent purchase.

[kbochat]

Actually if you think you're going to get into HD tv and DVDs you may wish to buy a decent receiver for now and wait until they get this HDMI switching thing figured out and then purchase a receiver that will last you for 5 years or so. In the meantime you'll gain experience with a current av receiver and get a solid idea of what you ideal want in a more premanent purchase.

I was thinking about that too. Something that just has simple video upconversion through component and be done with it.

[superpanavision70mm]

My vote would go to the Pioneer VSX-59TXi. You can get multi-room functionality out of it, plenty of power, lots and lots of inputs/outputs, plus HDMI ready. This is probably the best you are going to get unless you want to spend a few thousand on a receiver. In that case I would go with either Marantz's or Denon's flagship receiver, but I don't think you will HAVE to go with them if you get the Pioneer. I'd still be interested to know what brand/model of components you are hooking up to it, mainly CD or DVD.

[musicman1999]

The 59 is way above his price range,he wants to stay around $1,000.If features are a big thing you might want to look at the new Denon 2807,i have not heard it,but seems to have lots of features.You need to decide what is most important,however,features or sound quality,they are often exclusive.Listen to as many as you can,there are many options in this price range and most are very similar.The few NAD that i have heard do have above average sound quality,but only basic features.

bill

[Woochifer]

NAD makes very nice receivers that are very well built and can easily drive less efficient and lower impedance speakers. The primary drawback with NAD as others have said is that they don't always include the latest features. This is primarily because NAD does not update their receivers annually like Yamaha, Denon, and most of the mass market brands do. Even though the feature list is shorter, the amplifier sections on NADs are typically a cut above what you typically see with mass market receivers. NAD though has had its share of detractors with its more recent amplifier designs, so you'll probably want to give it an audition. While looking the unit over, you should also look at the user interface and the remote because those items are key areas where you see very big differences between different companies. With performance, comparably priced receivers will typically differ in more subtle than obvious ways.

[superpanavision70mm]

Sorry...I actually meant to say the Pioneer VSX-72TXV

This is around $1000 and you might even find it for about $750 if you search around. It does handle HDMI and you can either use it for 7.1 or you can use it for multiroom, but not both at the same time. It doesn't have all the inputs or outputs as the flagship model, but still boasts quite a few.

[RoyY51]

Despite the quality control issues that I have experienced with various Nad receivers in the recent past, I would still recommend their units for the audiophile who values sound quality above all else. At their price points, I have yet to hear their equals. Short on bells and whistles, long on pure performance.

[superpanavision70mm]

I agree on NAD performance, but in all honesty I think you will get nearly that with the Pioneer, at least to a degree that the difference will be so small that I doubt that you will notice unless you are getting a flagship NAD. It doesn't sound to me like your goal is to have the best-of-the-best anyway, so I think you can get bells/whistles and performance for the Pioneers price range.

[kbochat]

Yah definetly not looking for the best of the best, but darn good is always an option. I will have to check out the Pioneer also.

I know one of the big things boils down to all this video stuff. I know that most of these receivers are going to sound good, because I don't think the audio part are all the different. I think it is all this video out stuff that is gets in the way. I started a discussion on another board which did not go very far, but it was in regards to should just get a really good audio receiver and then find an upscaling type box when you go HDTV and such???

Either way a lot to think about.

[jocko_nc]

I wouldn't spend a lot of money on a "better" AV receiver...

The features on the front end are always changing to keep up with technology. The amplifier part stays the same, and, IMHO, is often overlooked at the expense of the bells and whistles. Get a couple of good used power amps (take your pick, there are tons out there) and feed them with the main and center channel signals of a modern receiver. That way you get the best of both worlds: You get modern features and high power output. You can upgrade the receiver for very few bucks. You will always have power amps, which is a good thing. You can drive the rears or a second zone without overtaxing the receiver. Receiver amplifier sections I have heard do not compare to a "decent" quality power amp.

Older Adcoms are good, plentiful, and relatively cheap.

jocko

[musicman1999]

If audio is the important thing give the Cambridge Audio 540r a try.It has little in the way of features but really good sound.Why pay for a bunch of features that you seldom use?
When i bought(2 years ago)i compared it to similar price Denon and Yamaha.None of the Yamaha could touch it for music but the 1400 was close for movies.With Denon it took a 3805 to match it for movies and it was close for music.Again great sound but no features,it also looks great.

bill

[jocko_nc]

Mid-tier Yamaha AVR w/ preouts for Rears: $325.00
(2) Adcom 545's for Main and Center: $400.00

Total: $ 725.00

That package will be hard to beat for the money. Add some high-end DIY speakers and thoroughly enjoy yourself on a budget.

jocko

[kbochat]

So after reading all this stuff and other websites, I started debating about buying something a year or two old with great sound and you usual Component out video.

I guess the one thing that I seem to see a lot is that this HDMI thing just won't settle down. So why buy something uber new and not be able to use it with a newer TV in a year or two.

So am I nuts for thinking that, and just getting receiver and when I am ready get a converter box as the go between when I am ready for the HDTV with HDMI TV???

If I am not crazy anyone have any good 1 or 2 year old recommendations??? I was thinking the Yamaha HTR-5880? or 5980 new if I can find a good deal. I hope I got those numbers right.....

[GMichael]

Here is a good site to see what Yamaha has to offer in their HTR line.

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/HTIB/HTR.htm

Maybe one of the mid-line AVR's and an external amp would be a good choice. This way you get the updated HT bells and still be able to have better 2 channel sound.

You could do the same with Pioneer, Denon or Onkyo.

Have you looked at the HK AVR's also? Good sound there.
More than one person has raved about the Cambridge Audio 540r to me.

Have you mentioned what speakers you have yet?

[edtyct]

I know next to nothing about rating the various receivers, but getting an HDMI-equipped receiver for the sake of the video switching makes more sense than getting it for its current, unfinished audio capability. But even HDMI video/swtitching through a receiver isn't a sure thing: The handshake between receiver and target or sink doesn't always take place correctly; the ability to repeat signals from an STB or a DVD player through a receiver to a TV isn't assured at this point; and switching between two units connected to a TV via a receiver is often a pain in the neck if one unit powers down when the other is active. You can circumvent all of these problems using component video and dedicated digital audio as necessary if something else about an HDMI receiver is irresistably attractive to you. Otherwise get a different receiver and do your HDMI video switching via a separate device later, or now if appropriate.

Ed

[kbochat]

I have not looked at the HK stuff at all. I will have to take a look at that too.

As far as speakers are concerned I am kind of embarassed to say it is an Acoustimass 10system from Bose. It was an on the whim purchase because I got what I thought was a good deal at 715 new. So not knowing about sites like this before hand I went with all the hype and what my cousin said was the best.

So I will have the 5.1 system in my main tv viewing area, but then I have wiring through out the house so 2 more probably bigger speakers for the downstair kitchen, dining, living room area, and then maybe something small in the bedroom. I was hoping to do all of that with one receiver, now another person said I would have to get some other attachments and stuff, but not really sure what all of those are yet.

[GMichael]

I know that some Bose do not do the handshake thing well with "other than Bose" components. Not sure if these are a problem or not. Other members may know, but I'd hold off until you find out fot sure. It would suck to get a great new receiver and have it not work right.

[kbochat]

I have found a lot of articles about compatibility issues with the lifestyle systes, but nothing on the Accoustimass. Bose actually advertises(I know that is where all the hype comes from) that they A system is supposed to fit on anything. I am going to continue looking. Most of the stuff that i find is merely about how they suck.

I see you run the RX-v2500, how much do you like it, and would you say go with that on sale some where, or try to find the 2600 at a relativly good price?

[GMichael]

There may be no problem with your Bose system. I just have heard about problems with some and would hate to see you end up with something that doesn't work.

I love my 2500 and would recommend one in a second if I knew it would work for you. The big improvement with the 2600 is the HDMI connections and 480i to 720p upconversion that seems to be having some bugs from what I've read. You may not even need all the power that the 2500 has. There are many models of receivers that may work just as well for you and cost much less. I don't know enough about your speakers to be able to make a good recommendation for you. But there are other members here who do know much more than I. No doubt that they will chime in sooner or later. In the mean time, here is a good site to check out what Yamaha has to offer.

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/r...eiver_main.htm

[kbochat]

Yah I love that site, between them and denon I have spent a lot of time reading. Part of the reason I think I am starting to get brain over load. Too many products out there to choose from. I was actually looking at the HT-5960, seems to have good power, your standard video in video out as long as you dont' care about HDMI, which I am starting to really feel sour about. Just with they industry could get things straight.

The only thing it does not really talk about is multi-room capability, but I am thinking there are other things out there that can help with that. Heck that might be a whole new tread by itself.