I received my NAD T752 in the mail from Saturday Audio yeterday evening. Good company to do business with.
First I'd like to thank Hawk, John A., and everyone else who helped with my decision making process. Your expertise was really invaluable and much appreciated.
Okay, so on with the show! I like the look and feel of the unit--it's very clean, solid, and *heavy*! These are minor issues for me, however, as all of my equipment lives in a closet.
SETUP: was surprisingly easy. I'd heard reports that the binding posts were very close together, but I really had no problems connecting the wires without banana plugs or spades. And note that I'm using very thick wire--two 16 gauge wires twisted together for each connection (except the center).
The manual is clearly written (not the usual bad translation), but pretty sparse on the details. Turns out it didn't really matter because NAD made setup very straightforward via the on screen display. I very quickly set up three presets: one for CDs, one for DVDs, and one for DirecTV. This will make programming my Pronto remote very simple! What a great feature!
THE SETUP: Here's my current setup-- Front L/R: Def Tech Pro Monitor 100; Rear L/R: Def Tech BP2; Center: crappy NEC speaker :-/; Sub: Mirage 12" suspension powered by bridged QSC rmx1450 power amplifier; RCA HDTV DTV receiver; Panasonic DVD XP30; Pioneer PDF 1007 CD (300 disk carousel); Fujitsu 42" Plasma.
The T752 replaced a Carver 885.1 receiver and a Denon AVD-2000 processor, who's untimely demise precipitated the NAD purchase.
THE SOUND: Phenomenal!! Compared to the Carver/Denon combination, the NAD's sound is brighter and far more detailed. My system sounds completely different and very much better when playing CDs and music on DTV. This applies to both stereo and PLII playback. I'm not too crazy about EARS mode at first blush, but I haven't explored it thoroughly.
The T752 has a variable sub crossover which I've set to 150 Hz as recommended by Def Tech. This has resulted in much better base response than I was getting with the Carver and its fixed 80 Hz crossover. In addition, and don't ask my why since I'm using the preamp output, the base is just much tighter and more prominent with the NAD. Really a huge improvement.
TV playback is terrific in PLII (Movie) and Dolby Digital. The NAD's superb detail makes dialogue much clearer and the base management really brings out those .1 effects.
That's all I can say about the sound for the moment. I've only had an hour or two of actual listening time.
THE BUGS!!??: So here's the part everyone's waiting for--what about those horrible bugs?! Well, so far they are a non-issue for me. I have my CD player hooked up to an analog input, so that's no problem. It has a toslink connector, but I'm presently using both the optical inputs on the NAD. I'll eventually get a toslink to coax adapter so I can use the NAD's superior DACs.
DTV channel popping? Yes, there is a noise when I change channels on the optically connected DTV receiver, but I would call it more of a click than a pop. And a very soft click at that. It doesn't bother me at all, and I doubt you would even notice it if you weren't listening for it.
Surround mode change popping? This is essentially the same as the channel changing noise: non-issue.
I realize that some NAD owners have experienced much louder popping, so I'm thankful I seem to have avoided that problem.
CONCLUSION: I couldn't be happier! I got a great sounding receiver that does everything I want it to do and for a very reasonable price ($699). Operation is (nearly) flawless and very well thought out. I'm contemplating replacing the Def Tech fronts with Magnepan MMGs or MGMC1s, so the support for 4 ohm speakers is a big plus.
MORE TO COME....
Anonymous
Posted on
What was the shipping charge?? Thinking of getting the same receiver from Satuday Audio, this is a heavy receiver and shipping charges must be high.
AdamT
Posted on
Shipping from Chicago to Miami was $40, including the optional double box. Pretty reasonable I think.
John A.
Posted on
Great news, Adam T. Thanks for posting.
I find EARS is great for those old video tapes, but you maybe don't use video tapes. Of course genuine multichannel recordings are best.
I agree about the pops. I think most people worry unnecessarily that they are some sign of a fault in their unit.
You have replaced some high-quality units. If you get improved sound quality even on stereo with your new receiver, then that is a strong recommendation.
