Times up, have to decide on a receiver..

 

Paul T
Well only had my Paradigm Studio 20v3's for a week and a half and seems they were too much for my 10 yr old Yamaha RX-V480, I have noticed a drop in sound quality from time to time but thought it was the cd or the lp or even me lol, but today while listening at mid to lower high volume level(around 10:30 on volume) I clearly heard distortion while a very low dynamic track was playing, I immediately shut down the receiver. Damn, looks like as far as listening to high quality music I will be out of luck for at least a week and a half since if I order tomorrow and the holiday weekend starts Thursday so I won't see the UPS guy here until a week Monday at the earliest :( . I knew the Yamaha was kind of lower end since it weighs in at I would guess between 13 to 15 lbs but it sounded pretty good with the B&W's I bought it with and never sounded better with the new Paradigms. Looks like I have to decide once and for all which receiver I want, seems through the past couple months I narrowed it down to the Denon 2803, Outlaw 1050, Marantz SR7300 or NAD T742 or T752(leaning hard towards the NAD the past week). Going to sleep on it for tonight.. damn, not the way I wanted to have to decide but you can't always pick your shots. Any last minute input will be highly appreciated.
 

Johnny
Paul,

In my opinion, I too would recommend either of the NAD's. I have never actually heard the NAD's paired with the Studio 20v3's, but I did hear them paired with some Paradigm Titan's, and the sound was wonderful. With the same Titan's, I also listened to the Denon 3803 (a step up from the 2803 you mentioned). To me, the NAD sounded much more clear and detailed. The Paradigm's bring out the clarity of the receiver very well. In my opinion, the NAD also clearly had a much more neutral sound, while the Denon seemed dry and kind of bright. Don't get me wrong, the Denon was a nice unit. It definately had the volume and power, but like I said, the sound was just kind of dry and "unimpressive" while the NAD was very clear and detailed, and the soundstage range was very large. At least for me, the NAD won hands down.

Also, if you said you are leaning towards the NAD, I just wanted to find out which model you were leaning towards. Depending on what your room size is, I would think that either the 742 or 752 would serve you fine. Unless you need some feature that the 742 lacks, the 742 has more "real power" than almost any other in its price range. If you have the money, by all means, get the 752, but if you want to save a few dollars, I am quite certain that the 742 would be plenty good for you.

Of the others you listed, I think the Outlaw would probably be second best in my mind, although I have never actually heard an Outlaw or a Marantz. Hope this helps.
 

Alan
Like Johnny says, go with the NAD. I just picked up a T752 for $650 which I believe is cheaper than the Denon 3803. I don't like the Denon at all. It has enough power, but it's very bright and a somewhat flat soundstage. The NAD has a very open soundstage, extremely detailed and midrangy. It also sounds warm, so no listening fatique. I Never heard Outlaw or Marantz so I can't comment. Rotel is also great, I thought it sounded a tad better than the NAD (better soundstage/ more transparent), but it's very pricey. I'm listening to the Eagles on the NAD as I'm typing this post...Don Henley never sounded so good!
 

Paul T
I went NAD, called Saturday Audio and ordered the T752 and the NAD PP2. I hoped they'd swap out the 521i CD for the 512 DVD for their special T752&T512 but they got a special deal on the 512s and wouldn't go for it. Just took it for granted since they are selling them for the same price they'd do it, oh well. I did ask Ryan about firmware versions and such with the T752 and he said these are all the newest ones available and they did send back a batch of T752s when the problems arose earlier this year but he did assure me the present ones have been great and if I have any problems they will happily take care of them, by the posts here I know Saturday Audio stand behind their stuff, made online shopping for big ticket item much less worrisome.. Unfortunately we will be away for the Thanksgiving weekend so I asked them not to ship it until Wednesday so it will arrive Monday when we're back... damn can't wait! One question (I'm sure there will be more lol) in connecting my present Yamaha CD player (CDX-710U)should I go with the rca analog or optical?
PS:Thank You Hawk, Johnny and Alan for the valuable info throughout my search for a new receiver, damn seems like I've been here for years deciphering all the info you guys put out at this BBS.... For that matter thanks to all who gave me info on the board here!
 

Alan
Paul T,

Congrats on your purchase! Let us know how you like it.
 

Hawk
Paul--

Congrats. Let us know how it goes when you get it set up. I, for one, am living vicariously with respect to having an NAD system!
 

Johnny
Paul,

Yes, congratulations on your NAD purchase. I am sure you will be very happy with your decision. Please let us know how things turn out when you get it all hooked up. That way, you can join in our NAD propagandist community. Once again, congratulations.
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