HipCheck Posted February 15, 2001 Share Posted February 15, 2001 Just picked up a pair of RF-3's and am psyched. Yes, I'm now in the family! After a few months of trying out some speakers in my apartment (sorry, neighbors. i LIKE living on the top!) and lots of research, esp on the web, I am still undecided on how to power them. Why? Because I have a few constaints: (1) The main one: cash I'm trying to keep it below $600 (~$400-500 plus tax and all that jazz). I had a few nice demo's for ~$740 (5.1 surround), but the amount of money I had for this purchase declined. (2) I need a receiver. Although the wife LOVES the new speakers, she/we are NPR junkies and really want to listen to the radio on this system. I am basically ready to decide between Rotel and NAD. I have 2 very helpful stores in my city that have been loaning me anything I'd like to try. I also will not be able to get surround speakers for a few years(?), so I can pretty much drop a surround power source. Should I grab a NAD C740 or piece together some Rotel pieces? There's a great Rotel RX-975, but that's getting a bit too high for me @ ~$800. I WAS going to go that high, but for now, it's best I drop my price point. I'd appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks in advance, folks! Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshT Posted February 15, 2001 Share Posted February 15, 2001 I would go with the NAD C740. I think it is one of the true bargains in audio. High end sound at a budget. I have heard it with two very different types of speakers -- B&W CDM1 SEs and Klipsch SB3s. It sounded excellent with both. Great bass, great umpf, smooth mids and highs (ever so slightly rolled of highs, which can be a plus with horn loaded speakers). Rotel is excellent too, but I think you would end up having to spend more, and I think the Rotel products are not quite as warm sounding as NAD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipCheck Posted February 15, 2001 Author Share Posted February 15, 2001 Great advice. At this moment, I have running (on loan) a NAD C740 and a Rotel RX-975. Immediately, my impression is that the Rotels are very much present onthe high end, pretty good mid and low. NADs are warmer, not as crisp on the high end, and really nice too. I'm pretty sure there is a price difference in favor of NAD. Seems like they both have enough juice for the RF-3's. Both high quality stuff, for sure. Right now I'm leaning towards this NAD. Tomorrow, off to buy a lottery ticket and re-do this not even completed, 1 week old system! There's SO-O-O much out there. I'm hooked. Photography equipment...Stereo gear...hockey gear...stereo gear...savings...stereo gear...rent...stereo gear...food...stereo gear... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshT Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 Hockey gear, eh HipCheck? I agree with your assessment of NAD vs. Rotel entirely. I would lean towards NAD for any Klipsch speaker. I do have one possible variation that might still fall under $600, and will give you a bit more power and better FM sound. You might try the NAD C340 integrated amplifier and a Rotel tuner (I forget the number, but the tuner retails for $300). The C340 is even more powerful than the C740. Though the additional power may not be necessary, the Rotel tuner sounds wonderful for the price (I own one). It is better than the tuner built into the NAD receiver, and better, I've read, than the NAD separate tuner. Of course, if you only plan to listen to the communist sympathizers on NPR . . . I AM ONLY JOKING The C740 would be $500 retail, often discounted as low as $400-$420. The C340 would be $400 retail, plus $300 for the Rotel tuner. I betcha, though, that you could get the two for just about $600 if your dealer give the "standard" 15% discount. That would be a very muscial combination! More power and better FM fidelity. In my bedroom (non-Klipsch) system, I listen to WGBH in Boston (jazz and blues and, gasp, NPR news) on the Rotel tuner, a Krell integrated amp, and B&W speakers, and it sounds sweet and smooth on a system that can be bright. Regards! --JoshT P.S. I am very happy, HipCheck, that Boston College beat Boston University in the Bean Pot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipCheck Posted February 16, 2001 Author Share Posted February 16, 2001 Although watching any Boston team skate is fun, I can only utter 2 words in reply: GO BLUE! I might have to look into the combination of components. Dare I say that NAD and Rotel are not sold by the same shops that I've been working with. And my 'discount' seems to be no more than 8% so far(on the RF-3's - SOME wire inc). Uggh. And the NAD discount? Looks to be slim to none. Discounts on the "combination" from each shop? I'll be sure to pick up some candies on the way out! Now, more power is always welcome. Is there that much noticable difference between those tuners? To some extent, I am thinking of this purchase being replaced with a HT receiver in mind in a few years - keeping this component(s) for a 2nd stereo somewhere or exchange/upgrade. So, I'm not sure how much juice I'll need before being a homeowner (wife's grad school approaching - can you say "married housing"?!). The wait continues. I haven't been able to do much solid listening over the weekends because of my role as a coach of the University of Michigan's Club Hockey Team. Our travel schedule so far in 2001 has been brutal. So I will not be able to heed your advice on trying the separate components this weekend - off to Indiana for the MCHL League Playoffs., with Nationals the first of March. GO BLUE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipCheck Posted February 16, 2001 Author Share Posted February 16, 2001 Well, after some web research, it seems like the NAD C340 and a tuner might be the way to go. My questions though: should one automatically upgrade to the NAD C50?? Anyone used it? Also, of the different Rotel tuners out there, which ones are recommended (of course keeping RF-3's in mind on all this)? If I go separate, are is there an interconnect that works 'better' with tuners to an intergrated? I'm doing my best to not rush out and just get something, and these are questions that you all seem to know well. I definitely want to be happy where I put my money. Take care, all, and thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshT Posted February 17, 2001 Share Posted February 17, 2001 Hey Hipcheck! How about those BC Eagles beating UNH last night! Err, the Harvard Crimson, now, well, they have hit hard times I remember in the mid to late eighties they would win almost every game they played. It was always great to go watch them play. Sigh . . . I would say go for the C340 and the $300 Rotel tuner (I think it's the 940 something, but their ain't more than two I think, and one is more like $500, so you won't have a hard time finding it). The NAD tuner, though I have not heard it, got trashed by What Hi Fi Magazine. The Rotel got a better, though not excellent review. To my ears, the Rotel tuner sounds quite a lot better than the tuner built into to C740 (which I think is the same tuner as the C50). I'm listening to Celtic music now on WBUR, but am too lazy to get up and look at the model number (actually, I have a disability which makes it a bit of a pain to get up and sit down repeatedly). The sound is sweet, smooth and warm I find. A great tuner for the price. Also, if you later go for five channel separates, they may not come with a tuner. Cables? Uhg, a huge topic. I have Monster M350i on my tuner, which I think is a fair compromise between high end and entry level. After all, it is only a tuner. For the CD player, I have Monster M850i, which are a bit pricey but sound quite rich and detailed in my opinion. I don't know, cables aren't something that excites me too much, so long as they are decent quality. There are just too many brand to keep track of. You could try the Transparent MusicLink RCA Super interconnects. They are $500 a pair new, though, so you'd have to skimp on everything else. Of course, you might find a pair used for ONLY $250 -- a hard bargain not to pass up! NOT! The Monster 350is, which are decent, are more like $30 a pair, which is still not cheap! Good luck with your hockey team this weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshT Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 The Rotel tuner is the RT940AX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipCheck Posted February 20, 2001 Author Share Posted February 20, 2001 Well, the deal is done - unless there are problems, of course! I was flirting with a demo NAD surround, but yesterday the new NAD C751 surround was thrust in my face with a prety nice discount, and I bit and bought it. I already have some old speakers that will turn this apartment into a nice little HT. I had already listened to the 760 with my Klipsch's, but when the newer model 751 was CHEAPER than the 760 demo, well, I may have spent $175 more than I planned, but I won't have to buy power for at least 3-4 years. THANKS for the help! And might I leave you with a hootin' GO BLUE! Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foost Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 HipCheck, I am from maine and go to school in Waltham. I am yet to find any decent stereo shops. Any advice? p.s. Black Bears! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 used to be a wonderful used equipment store in Cambridge down the street from MIT, small but great stuff, much of it very musical ------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshT Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 Congratulations HipCheck! NAD makes awesome surround sound receivers as I understand. What the heck, I'm all for multichannel products if their stereo sound is top notch too. Foost, HipCheck is out in Michigan. Did you mean to address your question to me, a Bostonian? I would recommend Goodwins Audio on Commonwealth Ave accross from B.U. (now called Spearit Sound technically, though not by any of the salesmen) or, if you have buckets of $$$$$, Goodwins High End on Main Street in Waltham (no affiliation to Goodwin's Audio, hence the recent name change). There is also a place called AudioLab in Cambridge that I have heard is very good, but I have never been there. It's in The Garage mall on JFK Street. Ciao! P.S. Go Eagles! Go Crimson! (I CAN root for both, since one is Hockey East and the other ECAS) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foost Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 Thanks JoshT. I did mean you. I have been to audiolab. they do have some pretty good stuff, small place though. Thanks for the info. i'll be headed to to atleast one of them this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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