How does NAD stand vs Marantz or Pioneer Elite?

[3db]

Yes looking at their current lineup they seem to have sort of caught up. Take a look at this pre/pro $4500 are you freaking kidding me? and no balanced outs? The Onyko pro/Integra DHC 80.1 blows that thing away for less than half the cost. Integra now has the DHC 40.1 for $1200 that is more capable than that NAD.

I stick with my original statement. NAD has lost focus of what they used to be and are behind the times at least from a performance vs price stand point. They did not used to be like that.

NAD never offered bells and whistles in their line up nor where ther ever priced along the same lines as the mass market stuff from Onkyo, Denon, and Yamaha so I fail to see the surprise. They haven't lost focus. You just forgot or didn't know how NAD started is all. NAD is no worse then Krell or any of the other boutique brands.

And as far as being able to handle diificult loads, NAD walks over the Elite and Marantz offerings and stands behind their warranty. They don't say in their users manuals "4 ohm loudspeakers not recommended"

 

[stl1cjg]

I don't know anything about NAD. I purchased an SR6003 (now discontinued) about a year ago. It powers my Studio 60's v5 effortlessly. I will be adding an XPA-3 when the funds present themselves, but for now I am extremely happy with the purchase I made.... so much so that my listening preferences have changed to more 2 channel than HT. I will still complete my HT but there is no urge to do it as quickly as before. IMO go with Marantz.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

NAD never offered bells and whistles in their line up nor where ther ever priced along the same lines as the mass market stuff from Onkyo, Denon, and Yamaha so I fail to see the surprise. They haven't lost focus. You just forgot or didn't know how NAD started is all. NAD is no worse then Krell or any of the other boutique brands.

And as far as being able to handle diificult loads, NAD walks over the Elite and Marantz offerings and stands behind their warranty. They don't say in their users manuals "4 ohm loudspeakers not recommended"

Oh they most certainly lost focus. They used to make killer amps from a performance/price standpoint. The NAD 2200 was a terrific amp and was priced far below that of the high end stuff. Most of their stuff was all performance but just plain on looks. I also had one of their older receivers which was bridgeable, and had the same amp section as the 2200. I have also owned the 2600, one of their pre-amps, and an integrated amp as well.

They used to offer big bang for the buck. Now they have priced themselves right out of consideration in my opinion. Not saying that it is not good stuff but rather just not worth what they are asking for it when one considers the options. That is not how they started. Adcom either for that matter.

It is you my friend that is not aware of how they started. In the eighties NAD, Adcom, Parasound, Vector Research, and a couple of others was all a working kid could afford. We dreamed about Krell and Levinson, but went home to NAD or Adcom. Now after learning a bit more, we were just as well off I think but just did not know it at the time.

Here is a pic of the infamous NAD 220 like the ones I had. I also had that pre-amp too. Amp was $650 or so and the preamp about $500 if I remember correctly.

I also had one of these guys.

and this guy too. That little integrated was an awesome little amp. Also bridgeable to use with the 2155 amp which was the little brother to the 2200.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Hmmm, not very comforting, to say the least. Oh well, I just hope mine keeps going.

I hope it does. I hope they stopped using those unreliable relays in the protections circuits. I don't think the amps are the same designs as their older ones. I am sure they are more reliable today.

 

[3db]

I hope it does. I hope they stopped using those unreliable relays in the protections circuits. I don't think the amps are the same designs as their older ones. I am sure they are more reliable today.

Thanks for the pics. I've always liked the looks of their gear. I remember when they first came out in the 80s and even back then, they were still more expensive than the regular stuff being pushed out by the likes of Pioneer, Sony, Technics, etc. Five hundred clams back in the 80s was still alot of dough. Your entitled to your opinions but in my mind, they've kept the strategy of building solid amps capable of driving diffiuclt loads where lesser amps shutdown for more money than the mainstream stuff.


The one thing that saddens me the most about NAD (other than I can't afford it) is it still seems to be plagued by QC problems. It was rumoured that this was supposed to have been cleaned up. I'm wondering if you had purchased their stuff during those bad QC years. Mercedez Benz were rust buckets back in the 70s everybit as bad as Ford but they cleaned up their act. Time will tell if the current offerings from NAD are reliable.

Thanks again for the pics.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Thanks for the pics. I've always liked the looks of their gear. I remember when they first came out in the 80s and even back then, they were still more expensive than the regular stuff being pushed out by the likes of Pioneer, Sony, Technics, etc. Five hundred clams back in the 80s was still alot of dough. Your entitled to your opinions but in my mind, they've kept the strategy of building solid amps capable of driving diffiuclt loads where lesser amps shutdown for more money than the mainstream stuff.


The one thing that saddens me the most about NAD (other than I can't afford it) is it still seems to be plagued by QC problems. It was rumoured that this was supposed to have been cleaned up. I'm wondering if you had purchased their stuff during those bad QC years. Mercedez Benz were rust buckets back in the 70s everybit as bad as Ford but they cleaned up their act. Time will tell if the current offerings from NAD are reliable.

Thanks again for the pics.

Your welcome, I was a huge fan of NAD back in the day. I hated most of the offerings from, Sony, Pioneer, etc. I could never afford Krell, Levinson, Pereux, etc., but I wanted good stuff. NAD, Adcom and the like was the way to go. Today it is companies like Emotiva, and Outlaw that are offering performance without the price tag.

 

[selden]

Does anyone know if Marantz is planning on updating the 7000 line anytime soon? i like the feature set as it seems to be more on par with the SC-25, but its 2 generations old at this point.

Supposedly the NA7004, SR7005 and M-ER803 will be announced at the "Munich High End 2010" exposition in early May. See

http://www.sempre-audio.at/High_End_2010_Marantz_kuendigt_drei_Neuheiten_fuer_Muenchen_an.id.791.htm

 

[Superfly]

Question how do you guys rate the power amp from marantz MM8003 http://us.marantz.com/Products/2325.asp

It has a large power supply... and I to want to go the marantz route... but it almost seems like I would be better off getting an amp and seeing what the newer marantz units offer I was also thinking about the 8002/7002 also.

 

[DSK]

I purchased a NAD 7240 PE back in the late 1980's. I think it is giving up the ghost now - so well over 30 years of service from it. I've ordered a NAD C338 to replace it (need phono inputs). I also have a NAD T753 purchased more than 12 years ago. I had to take it in for repairs once. It doesn't have HDMI, so will have to be replaced when I get a Dolby Vision capable TV. I've been suggested the Marantz SR5015 to replace the T753. Any suggestions, anyone?

 

[Hobbit]

Does anyone reading this have experience with the modular cards? it seems like a big bonus to be able to swap out video and sound processor cards every couple of years, instead of buying a whole new unit.

My experience with upgradability is it sounds better on paper than in practice. For anything. Today, all HTRs have some upgradability through firmware. This covers quite a bit.

As far as modules, 5 years down the road it's an antique anyway. Not saying it won't meet your needs for some time to come after that and that some firmware updates may still show up. It's just that everything about it is old technology. At this point upgrading the modules, if they are readily available, will end up costing close to buying a new HTR that was designed from the bottom up with the latest technology. Also, if you did upgrade modules you'd be putting them in old technology.