I'd like to resurrect this thread if possible...
My situation: NAD 758 v3 (I really like Dirac Live and I'm become tired of using it on my HTPC since it's not convenient) with Focal Aria 948 on fronts and (soon to be replaced) Monitor Audio BFX surrounds. I can't say that I listen loud, NAD indicator shows -30db...-10db reading depending on recording and movies I typically watch around -20...-15db. I do have significant adjustment for level difference between fronts and surrounds (-5db for fronts, +5db for surrounds). I have a room about 35 sq.m and the listening distance is about 2.5m.
Now, reading a lot of reviews of Arias (948 and 936) there are a lot of indications of them being "difficult to drive" due to their impedance dip below 3 Ohms and that they really require a "proper" amplifier. Now my question is what is "proper amplifier"? I actually asked this question to Focal support, but they've redirected my question to their local dealer here in Russia who by a chance is a big Denon dealer, so instead of honest answer I've got a sales pitch to buy their Denon XPA 2500 which seem to be their top-of-the-line stereo amp costing same as Parasond A21. However when I looked at its specs on Denon site I saw this:
Output power 8 Ohm (20 Hz - 20 kHz, T.H.D. 0.07%) 80 W
Output power 4 Ohm (1 kHz, T.H.D. 0.7%) 160 W
which to me looks way worse than e.g. NAD 275/375 (look at 10x THD and the fact that they quote only 1KHz instead of full band for 4 Ohm distortions:
Continuous output power into 8 Ohm and 4 Ohm (Stereo)>150W (ref. rated THD, 20Hz-20kHz, both channels driven)
Rated THD (CCIF IMD, DIM 100)<0.009% (ref. 20Hz – 20kHz)
Clipping power>170W (ref. 1kHz 0.1% THD)
So, back to my question: what is the "proper amplifier" to drive such speakers, how can I tell it given a specific amplifier model? And going through specific cases like that Denon XPA 2500, say NAD 275/375, Rotel 1552/1582, maybe Parasound Halo Integrated, maybe something else, is it possible to tell from specs/reviews whether the amp is "proper" or not?
And can I tell if my NAD 758 AVR is "improper"? Maybe its perfectly adequate?
