NAD 752

 

New member
Username: Costar

Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-04
Evening fella's,

New to HT...Quick Question,

Saturdayaudio.com is selling this bad boy for $699...keep looking or buy now? I've considered many receivers in this price range and have just burnt out on looking. I have no speakers yet but have looked into the Athena's due to the tight budget. Any thoughts?
 

New member
Username: Costar

Post Number: 2
Registered: Mar-04
One other thing....I'm looking for a receiver more so for movies than music. Would I regret going with the NAD, since I hear they're very musical receivers. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 

Silver Member
Username: Johnny

Missouri

Post Number: 207
Registered: Dec-03
Christopher,

It is always good to have as many options as possible. I would definately not buy any receiver without hearing it first. I have an NAD T762 (bought it from Saturday Audio actually) and I love it...but you may prefer something else. Who knows.

As for the music vs. movie issue you bring up, I would not hesitate getting the NAD for movie watching in the slightest. I feel that the two pretty much go hand in hand. It is true that NAD has a "music first" philosophy. NAD receivers have an increadibly full and detailed sound when playing music. If you think about it...that is really what you are looking for in movies too...so if it is good in music, it makes sense to me that it would be good for movies as well. I actually do probably 80% movie watching with my NAD, and I absolutely love the sound. The sound is so detailed that I actually thought an intruder had entered my home one time when watching a movie.

As for speakers, let me make some recommendations. While I do think that Athena speakers are wonderful buys for the money, I don't think they are the best choice for NAD. Athena speakers tend to the bright side, and might not pair well with the relatively neutral sound of NAD. Athena speakers in my opinion would go better with a warmer sounding receiver such as Pioneer Elite, HK, or Marantz.

That being said, if you are already thinking of buying from Saturday Audio (which is great by the way), I would check out PSB speakers. Saturday Audio is also a PSB dealer, and they offer great deals on the speakers...same as receivers. I have my NAD paired with some PSB Image series speakers, and the combo is wonderful. When I bought my speakers, I bought them "bad box" which means that the box was damaged in shipping...but the speakers themselves are fine...still carry the original warranty. This made the already low price even lower!! Call up Saturday Audio, and talk to Andy, the owner, and ask if they are due for any "bad box" shipments any time soon. Even if you can't get bad box, I would still urge you to look at PSB Image series over Athena for NAD. I am not sure their exact prices (you would have to call Saturday Audio), but I am certain that you could get a full set of PSB Image series speakers for about as much as Athena's...and you will be much happier with PSB with NAD vs. Athena with NAD. The PSB Image 4T retails at $649 a pair...but Saturday Audio typically gives at least 20% off that...while the Athena AS-F1 retails at $400 a pair, or the AS-F2 retails at $600 a pair. With the typical discount at SA, you can get them pretty close in price. Pair the 4T's with an 8C center channel, and some 1B's as surrounds...and you will have a killer system...and the price should be comparable...remember, when you see the prices of Athena speakers at Best Buy...that is a per speaker price...not per pair...so you will actually have to double the price listed to compare them with PSB (which lists prices per pair).

If Saturday Audio still isn't cheap enough with the speakers...try www.dmc-electronics.com. They offer PSB speakers at excellent prices too. 4T's are $400 a pair (same as cheaper Athena speakers), 8C is $199 (same as Athena center) and the 1B's are also $199 a pair (same as Athena's surrounds). The only thing about the speakers at DMC that you need to keep in mind is that they are "factory blem's"...which means that there is some sort of cosmetic blemish on the speaker. I have not ever bought from them, but I have heard from others on this forum that these "blemishes" are almost totally unoticable...maybe a small scratch on the wood housing or something. Once again though...the speaker itself isn't damaged...and they come with a full factory warranty. If you do choose NAD, I would highly recommend these PSB speakers...especially at those prices!

Good luck!! Let us know what you decide on.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Sem

Post Number: 18
Registered: Mar-04
Christopher, Johnny has given excellent advice. If at all possible, try to audition anything before buying to assure its what you're looking for.

As far as the NAD/PSB combo, I can also attest to its great sound. I have the T742 paired with the same Image speakers Johnny has mentioned, 4T/8T/1B (no sub yet - but I don't really miss it so far). I got these from Saturday Audio as well. Call or e-mail Andy (Andy@saturdayaudio.com). He has a deal right now to clear out his year end models of NAD and PSB's, which can't be beaten. Go to http://saturdayaudio.com/ and click on the "Deals" then the "PSB" links.

BTW, Andy told me he has browsed this forum and is grateful for all the good press he gets here.
 

New member
Username: Stevetaylor

Boston, MA USA

Post Number: 6
Registered: Mar-04
Listened to my first movie, Finding Nemo, on the T 763 with my daughter last night. I definitely heard things (we have watched the movie countless times) that I did not hear in my older setup. It felt like we were underwater for most of the movie. Lot's of small sounds in surround speakers, very sublte stuff but it added to the whole experience. Lot's of deep sounds even with no subwoofer and my tower speakers.

I am very satisfied with both the music and movie capabilities of the NAD.

 

Bronze Member
Username: Smitty

Canada

Post Number: 29
Registered: Dec-03
Steve, you may have already heard this but you NEED to get a sub for this movie. Darla tapping on the fish tank is one of many incredible scenes in this movie with a sub. I've also watch this movie maaannnnny times with my daughter :-). I have tower speakers too, rated down to -2dB at 35Hz and the sub(Paradigm PS-1000) made a huge difference.
 

New member
Username: Stevetaylor

Boston, MA USA

Post Number: 7
Registered: Mar-04
Smitty, yes, the fish tank tapping scene in NEMO jumped out at us with the NAD and the towers. With my prior system you could tell someone was tapping something but with the NAD it felt like you were in the tank. It felt like the room was vibrating and the sound decayed as you would expect. I do have a sub but have not connected it up. I can only imagine what it will sound like then.
 

New member
Username: Costar

Post Number: 3
Registered: Mar-04
Johnny,

I can't thank you enough for all the good advice. I appreciate all your responses and I look forward to checking this site daily for more good info. This ht stuff is never ending and I'm glad to find a place I can turn to for an absolute wealth of knowledge from guys and gals. Thanks!!
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