I am looking at these three model right now. Like Bob I am not sure on what to go with. My only reservation about NAD is that we do not have an aUTH. dEALER in my town in order to sample demo that receiver, but I am able to hear the others. Will NAD make a big defference over these receivers?
Thanks.
Hawk
Posted on
FHAL:
IMO, the 762 is a big improvement over the Onkyo 900. I would point you to the recent equipment test report in the June issue of Sound & Vision, where it was found that the Onkyo was only capable of 52 wpc when driving all channels (despite the manufacturer's rating of 125 wpc). Additionally, the NAD is much cleaner sounding, with far more detail. The NAD is a true 100 wpc with a lot of dynamic headroom. Although close in MSRP, if you compare the NAD to the Onkyo, the NAD will sound like a much more expensive receiver as it beats the Onkyo in almost every department, sound-wise.
Now, the H/K 525 is a very good receiver, with excellent power and good detail. Compared to the NAD, I like the cleaner sound of the NAD as the H/K sounds a bit cloudy to me, but the H/K is very smooth and mellow--a lot of people like its sound. However, I would caution you about speakers as the H/K is a little harder to match with the right speaker. Anything that has a relaxed, laid back sound like Paradigm or PSBs are not a good choice for an H/K receiver. It really reqiures something a little more forward sounding like JMlabs, Canton. Klipsch, or Mirage, to name a few, to really get the most out of an H/K receiver.