Quote Originally Posted by Carl Reid
I'm totally in agreement with the need for proper testing... we really should be able to "test drive" audio equipment!

I found out the need for proper testing the hard way... my first serious audio setup was a pair of Mission Volare 63 Floorstanders with a NAD C352 integrated Amp and a NAD C521Bee CD Player... All 3 products were highly critically acclaimed... The Missions were speaker of the year in Europe (EISA awards) and I'm sure just about everybody on this site, probably knows how much reviewers love NAD...

Now all those products are fine in their own right, but I bought them mostly on reputation with only a brief listening test of the individual products but not the entire setup... Which was a mistake....

The setup was totally inoffensive... it didn't really do anything wrong, but for my ears it didn't do anything really special either.... And looking around now, I see that for the same money I could have put together a much more satisfying combo...

So now, I really have to be thoroughly impressed with a setup before I'll part with my cash...

I made the mistake in buying my NAD C372. While it's a good integrated amp I made a rush choice of buying it and within a few weeks bought the Parasound Halo Amp I am still using. The Parasound is a much better match for my PSB speakers (both the Image and the Platinums). Looking back I wish I had just spent that money elsewhere, so now the NAD is powering my surrounds, which is hardly giving that type of amp the duty it deserves. I will probably sell this amp off in the next year along with my Denon 2910 DVD player and put that money towards another Halo amp so I can bi-amp my speakers.