Good Musical HT receiver for $800 (1 Viewer)

[Zak Ruck]

I'm in the market for a good musical receiver for around $800. My system will be 60/40 HT vs Music.

I'm currently running an old HK ARV20II, and I'm in the process of upgrading my speakers. So far I'm only pushing Paradigm Studio 20's for mains. I'll be getting the Studio CC soon, along with a sub (not sure which one yet) and rears sometime down the road. I'll be running either a 5.1 or 6.1 setup.

The rest of my system consists of a Hitachi 43" WS RPTV, and a Denon DVD1600 dvd player. I'll be getting a new CD player at some point as well. I'd also like the receiver to have a Phono input as I would like to get into vinyl someday.

So, what receivers would be good for this setup? I'm really not partial to any brand.

Thanks a lot.

Zak

 

[Albert Damico]

I own Yamaha, B&K, Nakamichi, Technics, and NAD. I have listened to HK, Denon, Marantz and a host of others. There are some fantastic receivers out there but the best I have ever heard in your price range for music would be NAD. It is superb. Simply the best musical receiver I have ever heard. Thats why I have an NAD T-752 in my dedicated music room. There is also the NAD T-762 that was just released a few months ago. I think both are in your price range and while both are great HT receivers, their ability to honestly reproduce music is unparalleled. Oh course this is just my opinion!

 

[Zak Ruck]

Thanks for the info Al, I've been considering NAD for a little while now. The only bad thing is that I do not believe there is a NAD dealer near me. I'll see if i can find one.

The only other suggestion I've received is Integra, but that is from the dealer that I bought my TV and DVD player from.

THanks again,

Zak

 

[MikeWG]

I would recommend giving the new Marantz line of receivers a listen. I find that Paradigm and Marantz are an excellent match as Paradigm seems to be on the bright side and Marantz is on the warmer side of neutral. I am running a Marantz SR6200 receiver with a set of monitor series speakers from Paradigm and am very satisfied for both music and HT. I am not sure of the exact price of the new SR8300 but that receiver would be a nice match for your studio speakers (IMHO).


Mike.

 

[Zak Ruck]

The store where I bought my Paradigm's at also sells Marantz, so I'll have to go back and give a listen to. He also sells Sony ES, Pioneer Elite, and some very high end stuff. Thanks.

Zak

 

[CurtisC]

The Denon 3802(650.00)the 3803(850.00)check em' out,sound,power,features,hard to beat.

 

[Paul Chalk]

I second the NAD T752 recommendation. I've listened to it on several occasions at my dealer with B&W speakers. Most musical receiver I've heard for under $1000.

I'm actually going to be buying the T762 very shortly here.

 

[Jonathan M]

I'll third the NAD T752 recommendation. Note that it does not do bass management to the analog inputs unless you are also applying a DSP mode (Pro-Logic, EARS etc.). ie. It's analog direct, with no option to go Analog -> A/D -> Bass Managment -> D/A -> Speakers/Sub unless you are also applying a DSP. This may be of consequence for your wanting to go vinyl in the future. Ofcourse, you will likely hook up most of your other sources (DVD, new CD, Sat box etc.) with digital inputs so this won't matter for them (Bass managment functions fine with digital inputs).

With that said, the NAD is a fine sounding receiver, and you DO get a true 5x80Watts of power minimum (And likely more). It weighs around 16kg IIRC and is well built with a decent (Although not asthetically pleasing IMO) learning remote with Macro capability.

 

[PeterCB]

Paul, I thought this post on another forum might be of interest to you before you buy. Peter

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=232398

 

[RobCar]

I think it's also important to investigate which receivers sound most musical with which speakers, since the speakers are such a critical part of the sound and since some recievers sound better w/ some speakers over others.

 

[MatthewJ S]

RXV2300

 

[Zak Ruck]

I plan on auditioning the receivers, but just wanted some info from people as to their opinions. The NAD and Marantz are looking pretty good. Just have to find a dealer that carries NAD near me.

Thanks for all the info.

Zak

 

[ChrisHeflen]

I would also give Rotel a listen.
They are laid back a bit (IMHO) and would be a good match for the paradigms.

 

[RobCar]

MatthewJ S,
Just curiuos -- does the Yamaha rx-v2300 sound any more musical than the 1300? I'm looking at those models and am not convinced that the 2300 is worth the extra $$.

 

[Albert Damico]

I am not knocking Yamaha. I have an RX-V2095 and I love it. I also had an RX-U unit for many years (two channel stereo) My son also has Yamaha. Great receivers, great features, good value. So I can put any receiver in my music room I want to. But I have my NAD receiver there. For music, IMO, there is no comparrison. I had them connected side by side. Two items. Despite the Yamaha being rated at 100 watts per channel and the NAD at only 80, I had to increase the gain on the Yamaha 2/3 of the dial to get the same sound level as I could get with the NAD at much less than half. The appearance is that the NAD was rated much more honestly than the Yamaha. As far as sound, for music, again IMO no comparrison. The NAD was crystal clear at all levels and produced a much tighter bass. Again, just my opinions as I own both.

 

[Ricky T]

Zak,

If you are ok with 5.1 and willing to buy used, you can get into the Parasound AVC1800 prepro and 855 85x5 amp combo for around $800 (both units are usually available on ebay). The avc1800's onboard dacs should benefit from Parasound being a dac company (5 dac models in the late 90s) and be quite good. The 80hz crossover would be ideal for your Studio 20s and matching center/rears.

The 855 amp is very solid (tested ~ 92x5). And the parasound cdc1500 cd changer (I have this) digital out into the avc1800 should provide good results. See audioreview.com for some comments on all 3 models.

 

[David*RT]

How is the radio signal strength from the NAD?

I hear recievers of all brands have crappy reception radios.

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