Receiver advice for a newbie

[stasik80]

Hello. I recently purchased a used set of PSB speakers that also came with the NAD T758 receiver. I also purchased a brand new Onkyo tx-nr686 receiver from Best Buy on black Friday. I have yet to on-box it. I'm setting up a home theater and my use will be 80% movies if not more. I'm very new to the world of AV and don't really know what makes a big impact and what does not. I realize that the NAD is a better receiver but it doesn't have 4k pass-through and only one output and I need to feed to a TV and a projector. Would you recommend going through the trouble of feeding the audio and video separately and figuring out how to switch sources with the NAD or just go with the Onkyo? Would the difference be noticeable with a movie? Also, the NAD seems to be rated for 60W per channel vs the Onkyo for 100W but the NAD is MUCH heavier. Does this mean the power supplied by it, while lower, is more stable or accurate?

Thanks, Stan

 

[Pogre]

I'd repurpose the NAD as a secondary system myself. Chances are you won't notice any difference in sound quality between the 2 as long as operated within spec and all DSP is disengaged. You'll have more headroom with the Onkyo, which is good for movie watching. Especially if you like turning it up.

 

[stasik80]

Thanks. How did you use it as a secondary system? Do you mean as a whole different setup?

 

[PENG]

Would the difference be noticeable with a movie? Also, the NAD seems to be rated for 60W per channel vs the Onkyo for 100W but the NAD is MUCH heavier. Does this mean the power supplied by it, while lower, is more stable or accurate?

Thanks, Stan

The NAD was rated 110 W FTC, vs Onkyo's 100 W. I would say they are just about equal in terms of power output into 8, 4 ohms, 2, 5 and 7 channel driven. The NAD is heavy because they made them heavier, bigger box, heavier heat sinks and its transformer may have a higher weight to VA rating ratio.

As Pogre suggested, if you need the Onkyo's feature for your HT system, go for it and use the NAD for something else, or sell it if you have no other use for it.

 

[MTSound]

I believe the NAd can be upgraded to 4K with module and firmware update. If that is more cost effective than keeping the Onkyo it might make sense. If it is not cost effective then I’d sell the Nad and recoup the costs as suggested above


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[Pogre]

Thanks. How did you use it as a secondary system? Do you mean as a whole different setup?

Yeah, basically a whole other set up in another room or something.

I believe the NAd can be upgraded to 4K with module and firmware update.

That'd be the way I'd go if that's possible. Where do you think you might have seen that?

 

[MTSound]

Yeah, basically a whole other set up in another room or something.

That'd be the way I'd go if that's possible. Where do you think you might have seen that?

It’s on the NAD website. The 758 v2 can be upgraded to the v3 with 2 modules. Don’t recall the numbers but I think it’s 130 and 230. Should be able to contact nad to get more information.


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[Pogre]

It’s on the NAD website. The 758 v2 can be upgraded to the v3 with 2 modules. Don’t recall the numbers but I think it’s 130 and 230. Should be able to contact nad to get more information.


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Oh, okay. So not just a software upgrade. I see where cost could be a factor.

 

[stasik80]

Those upgrades are around 500 which I'm not sure makes it worth it

 

[PENG]

I believe the NAd can be upgraded to 4K with module and firmware update. If that is more cost effective than keeping the Onkyo it might make sense. If it is not cost effective then I’d sell the Nad and recoup the costs as suggested above


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Good point, but for $549.99, one can get a brand new AVR-X3500H, or add a little more for the AVR-X3600H that would beat even the T758 V3 in every way..

NAD VM130

Add-on 4K video module for NAD T 758 home theater receiver

www.crutchfield.com

 

[snakeeyes]

Would be better if they let you leapfrog to 2.1 hdmi 8K modules next year. Just speculation though. I don’t know if NAD would offer that.

 

[stasik80]

This is a very newbie question but other then having a specific feature set and claimed power output, what determines how good a receiver is? Meaning, if I find one with the correct features and power for my need, do I still have to worry about sound quality? I got a great deal on a set of used PSB Image speakers which is way more speaker then I originally planed for when I bought the Onkyo tx-nr686 receiver and want to make sure that the receiver doesn'y take away from the speakers.

 

[Hamid Khan]

Would be better if they let you leapfrog to 2.1 hdmi 8K modules next year. Just speculation though. I don’t know if NAD would offer that.

Interesting speculation, food for thought I guess. I am speculating as well, if NAD do offer upgradable modules for 8k, what price would they have it for, if the 4k module is $549 currently, and how near in the future would they offer that module.
I would take a guess, 8k pass through would have to be main stream on AV receivers.

 

[Pogre]

This is a very newbie question but other then having a specific feature set and claimed power output, what determines how good a receiver is? Meaning, if I find one with the correct features and power for my need, do I still have to worry about sound quality? I got a great deal on a set of used PSB Image speakers which is way more speaker then I originally planed for when I bought the Onkyo tx-nr686 receiver and want to make sure that the receiver doesn'y take away from the speakers.

Features, reliability and build quality are the strongest determining factors for me. Some models will have better measurements than others using sensitive (more sensitive than the human ear) equipment, but the general consensus here is that with competently built components those differences are largely inaudible and you reach a point of diminishing returns much faster than you would with say, speakers.

That Onkyo should have the power and if it has all the features you need you should be good to go. Onkyo had a pretty good stumble a while back but I haven't heard anything negative in a while.

 

[stasik80]

Great, thank you for the advise. I will try to sell the NAD. Is my understanding correct that from a sound standpoint its a good receiver that still has some value to it?

 

[Hamid Khan]

This is a very newbie question but other then having a specific feature set and claimed power output, what determines how good a receiver is? Meaning, if I find one with the correct features and power for my need, do I still have to worry about sound quality? I got a great deal on a set of used PSB Image speakers which is way more speaker then I originally planed for when I bought the Onkyo tx-nr686 receiver and want to make sure that the receiver doesn'y take away from the speakers.

Think majorly of an AV receiver as a pass though device. It provides video and audio connections for your devices. Typically, if you need extra power or want to add a source device, it can be connected through the connections that is provided by the receiver, which would support the features available on the receiver for example, if you need more power for speakers a dedicated power amplifier would be added.
In my opinion, a good receiver would be one that has all the necessary connection and supporting features that is current on the market, able to deliver higher outputs at 2 channels driven, reliability and price.

 

[Hamid Khan]

Great, thank you for the advise. I will try to sell the NAD. Is my understanding correct that from a sound standpoint its a good receiver that still has some value to it?

I have never heard anything terrible about NAD products. However, I believe the NAD T758 receiver is a quality product. I am providing a review link about this receiver, maybe will help in whatever you decide.
Secondly, the product described in the link may or may not be the same product. The reviewed product is the NAD T758 V3.
Here: https://www.soundandvision.com/content/nad-t758-v3-av-receiver-review

 

[stasik80]

I have never heard anything terrible about NAD products. However, I believe the NAD T758 receiver is a quality product. I am providing a review link about this receiver, maybe will help in whatever you decide.
Secondly, the product described in the link may or may not be the same product. The reviewed product is the NAD T758 V3.
Here: https://www.soundandvision.com/content/nad-t758-v3-av-receiver-review

Unfortunately I have the original (v1), otherwise I could of just used it for my needs as v3 has 4k pass-through.

 

[PENG]

soundandvision.com typically would say nice thing about NAD AVRs because it's NAD, regardless the fact that they did not measure well on their bench, compared to other AVRs they measured.

On Audiosciencereview's bench the T758 V3's measurements were not good, again just relative to other AVRs. In terms of the often focused on THD+Noise, it ranked last or second last on their current list depending on the criteria.

Review and Measurements of NAD T758 V3 AVR

This is a review and detailed measurements of the NAD T758 V3 Home Theater Audio/Video Receiver (AVR). It was kindly sent to me by a member. The T758 appears to have been released last year and costs US $1,399. The T758 is quite a bit heavier than recently measured AVRs and has a serious...

www.audiosciencereview.com

For example, based on their 5 W into 4 ohms:

and based on pre-amp output at 2 V:

That does not mean it won't sound good to people, and I am sure it does, because it also depends on how hard you push the unit. At or below its rated output, the T758 V3's pre-amp output measurement was quite decent.

 

[lovinthehd]

This is a very newbie question but other then having a specific feature set and claimed power output, what determines how good a receiver is? Meaning, if I find one with the correct features and power for my need, do I still have to worry about sound quality? I got a great deal on a set of used PSB Image speakers which is way more speaker then I originally planed for when I bought the Onkyo tx-nr686 receiver and want to make sure that the receiver doesn'y take away from the speakers.

Sound quality differences are minor among avrs IME, and that is more in the dsp than anything. Now, if the speakers are hard to drive in terms of impedance/phase angle (which particular speakers did you get?), especially if you like higher levels of output, then perhaps adding an external amp to an avr's pre-outs may be a way to address that (how loud do you like it, how far away from the speakers are you?). NAD stuff tends to be generally good, but their avrs don't seem particularly special and tend to be higher priced than the main brands due them being a relatively small player.