Marantz ? NAD ? Yamaha (??) heeeeelp! (1 Viewer)

[MathBrisk]

Arrrrrrrrrrg you guys are terrible ! I started with a sub 300 $ US budget and after reading this wonderful board I'm considering moving on to a much bigger budget (at this point, you should all feel horribly guilty). Well that being said, I'm still trying to stick to the smallest amount of $$$ possible to be spent on a decent, great , amazing ! receiver. You guys have helped me so far, so here are the infos I can give you :

Front and Rear :
Paradigm Titans
Center :
CC 170
Sub :
D-box 303 (12",not many ppl know this one but man, for the price... it rocks the house !!)
Pioneer VSXD409 (

 

[Rich Wenzel]

I would rank NAD the best of those brands...you can go to

dmc-electronics.com and get a T752 for under $600 (its a refurb). You may be able to do better than this, make sure you get it from a true NAD authorized dealer. I would just check on their website and if not there shoot NAD an email asking if that company is. I know DMC is.

As for Rotel, it will probably be out of your price range.

Rich

 

[Carlo_M]

I have a T762 and love it. My local dealer has a website, and they are authorized NAD dealers. www.yawaonline.com - email or call their toll-free number to get the best possible price (NAD doesn't allow below MSRP prices to be displayed).

Best of luck to you!

 

[MathBrisk]

Thanks to both of you. I checked on NAD's web site and there are 5 autorized dealer in my home town (montreal). I don't think they sell refurb though. So I guess NAD is the way to go Never had bad experience with channels stopping to work or similar stuff ? I'd be mad as hell if such a huge investment (to me it is) would end up dying on me. Any other suggestions ?

Also (should post this under an other topic but while I'm at it..) I just installed my new sub (moving from a noname 8 " to a great 12") and well, I can't hear any improvement. I'm not to good (lack of knowledge) with sub placement, crossover freq etc.. My receiver is set on small speaker for all channels, sub on. Now, should I set the crossover freq on my receiver to 100, 150 or 200 ? Same thing goes for the sub itself, I have a knob in the back that varies from 40 to 160. Around what is good ? I'm at half way right now .. so 100 I guess. Any other things I sould know ? The sub is currently closer to me than the front speaker which is not too good I guess...

 

[David Preston]

I have a Marantz 7300 and I am very happy with mine. It's new but you can check out refurbs at www.accessoriesforless.com and get a great deal.

 

[Andrew Testa]

Check out Saturday Audio Exchange in Chicago. They have a special running on the NAD T742 that's too good to pass up if you're already considering one. They are authorized dealers, but I don't know if they ship to Canada.

Andy

 

[Rich Wenzel]

to answer your speaker questions, i have to first say im not the best person to ask, but i will say the following

if you dont know much about speaker placement and havent tested your room, the default starting position of your sub is a corner behind your front speakers.

without knowing room dimensions, doors and windows, and speaker placement, and which speakers you are using, its hard to offer good advice....especially on the crossovers...which speakers you have will really impact that decision...

if you want the best advice, ask on the speaker forum, and supply the info on your room dimensions, speakers, and whats in your room....people will help you with placement and crossover settings....

sorry i cant be more help.l

Rich

 

[JamieS]

NAD T752 lists for $1100 CAD at my local retailer. I don't think you can get in UNDER $1000 with TAX.


T742 is still 800CAD.

To be honest with your setup I'd say Maranz 4300 or HK 125 (both in the $600- 699 range would be your best bet. Then take that extra $200 you save over a T742/52 and upgrade your center or SUB. I think the CC270 matches the Tiatans better If I am not mistaken.

T752 is overkill for your setup (unless you have speaker upgrade plans). Rotel is gonna cost you $1800 CAD and would be kinda like installing a BMW Motor in a Neon with Canadian Tire tires on it. I used to own Atoms and they and Titans are great value but you'll see a lot more improvemnet from spending $600 on a Reciever and $400 on speaker improvements than spending $1000 on a reciever. Speakers are the weakest link in most systems.

 

[MathBrisk]

Hi JamieS, I see you're from Nova Scotia, so I guess your prices are from over there. The 3 dealers I visited yesterday were all extremely fixed on their prices : 1300 $ 752 and 900 $ 742. That's it. The best they can do is no taxe. Any store recommendations ?

I had the chance to audition Denon 1803, Yamaha 740, NAD 752 762, Pioneer ES33TX and HK 220. The NADs where miles ahead from the others, except for the Denon which sounded nice and was rather feature packed for the price (720 $ Can)

 

[Josh~H]

MathBrisk -

I wish you the best of luck in finding that perfect receiver. I only wanted to comment on something you said:

Yamaha being underpowered and to bright (esp with Paradigm)

I recently purchased a Yamaha HTR-5660, and prior to getting my Paradigm Atoms, I was concerned about the same thing. I had heard "rumors" that Yamaha's were typically "bright" receivers, and Paradigms were "bright" speakers. Well, I don't know how much of that is true, but I decided to audition the Atoms, and I'm very happy with the combination. The Yam @ 85 wpc has way more than enough power for my Paradigm setup in my 16'x13' basement.

My basement is very 'live' acoustically, with concrete floors and drywall walls/ceiling. I do get a bit of listening fatigue when watching action movies at irresponsibly high volumes, but I believe that's more related to the room than the receiver/speaker combo. I'm making acoustic adjustments such as an area rug, sound absorbtion panels, etc., with the goal of taming down some of the reflections.

Despite my basement's poor acoustics, I'm really enjoying the Yamaha/Paradigm combo. I have 6 Atoms, a CC-170, and the PDR-10 sub. The receiver cost me only $350USD, and all 8 speakers went for just about $1,000USD. I really think that my purchases represent some of the best $$/performance available.

Try to audition the receivers you're interested in with the Titans. You won't know for sure until you hear it for yourself.

 

[JamieS]

MathBrisk

I will email you the URL of the NS dealer who is advertising the NAD T752. Why not print it out and take it to the dealer and say HEY why can't you sell to me for the same price as this guy in Nova scotia who has NO competion to drive his price down. Bet at least 1 guy will match it.

Also as far as Denon for less than $1000 CAD look at the 2803 far superior power supply and sound to 1803 IMO

 

[Carlo_M]

Why not print it out and take it to the dealer and say HEY why can't you sell to me for the same price as this guy in Nova scotia

Trying to get a match is fine and dandy...

But please please do not leave that printout with the place you're trying to get the pricematch from!
The reason is that if you get to a big chain store, with a lot of pull, they can complain to NAD (or any other manufacturer) and try to get the dealer unaauthorized. Not to say that they will, but it can happen.

Energy speakers a few years ago listened to The Good Guy's complaints when people would take web prices in to their stores and GG wouldn't match them, then they'd leave the printout, email, whatever there. Energy then told all dealers not to advertise below MSRP (not to even put their prices on the web) and a lot of dealers who had discounts on Energy speakers were lost. :frowning:

 

[MathBrisk]

No worries Carlo, I already tought about that (esp after reading the threads here ). In fact, I usually am very good at dealing pretty much anything, but when it comes to high end Audio in specialized stores, I feel somewhat... less at ease. I mean those people are normaly nicer toward their customer and they really know their stuff. I wonder if their profit margin is smaller than those of lets say Future Shop or any big surface stores (probably so..).

 

[Mika-H]

Matt, have you listened to the Athena Point 5 system? I used to own an all-Paradigm system. I wasn't impressed and they didn't lasy very long in my HT. The Athenas KICK BUTT, and I think they are even cheaper than the Paradigms! I know you were asking about a receiver, but I can't keep my mouth shut about the Athena speakers!

 

[MathBrisk]

THanks Mika, I've heard the Athenas before I bought my Paradigm and altough they sounded good for the price but I still prefer my Paradigms

 

[Alan Wong]

If you're budget concious and willing to look at refurbed gear, the NAD 752 and Marantz 7300 are in the same ballpark, $600-650 US. I looked at both of these and decided to get a refurbed NAD 752.

NAD can be found at Yawa
Marantz at Accessories4less

 

[MathBrisk]

Alan, I'd gladly go the refurb way if I lived in the state. I don't think Yawa ships to Canada, and NAD wouldn't honor the warranty. If I convert it to CDN $ + potential shipping/handling/duty/canadian taxes ! (on something bought in the states go figure...) it would come to 1226 $ (thats with 50 $ shipping, 50 $ duty and canadian taxes). In other words, the exact same price as a brand new unit right next door There must be quite a lot of those since the early T752 were plagued with minor easy to fix bugs. Mostly open boxes with upgraded chips Man... the states.. so close and so far at the same time.