Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Cambridge Audio 540r or NAD T753/T763/T773 ?

Hi guys,

When I was emailing my Ottawa dealer about NAD's 753/763/773 line, he was quick to reply:
"if you are putting the emphasis on sound quality, may I also suggest the Cambridge Audio 540R? It's a bit less expensive than the NAD but rivals their sound quality"
He lists the 540r at 939$ and NADs at 1500/2000/2500$
(canadian dollars)

I do favor Music, then Movies and just bought
M60s, QS8s, VP100, EP350.

It's Axiom's JC that pointed me towards the 753, which
I didn't know much about then.

Anyone heard a Cambrige before ? Impressions ?
I would be sold on the NADs otherwise.

Cheers,
Francois

Sorry, I can't speak of the Cambridge, but I've had a NAD T763 for nearly two years now and I've been very pleased. It has plenty of power and is very musical, much more so than the "boom and sizzle" AV receivers you see at big box audio stores. I think it's well worth the money.

Doug

Thanks, any comments on the NADs is great !
763/773 have a Toroidal tranformer, if it makes a big difference.
Oh yeah, I can't go without noticing that the NADs are twice as heavy as the Cambridge, too... Weight gives an indication of power components quality, doesn't it ?

don't put too much weight into weight

Sorry, had to say it


I had the 773 for about a month or so while waiting for the 4600. It has balls and is heavey that is for sure. Zero options though. It's well built but I had a little hiss and hum if my ears were close to the speakers.

Don't take the dealers word for anything. Matter of fact don't take anyone else's opinion. Go hear them yourself or better yet, get a in house audition. Nothing else matters.

I did audition the 773 at a store. Lots of power, liked it.
I'll likely pick the T763, with less fans, a toroidal tranformer like the 773, and enough power for me. The Y 4600 was also on my list, but
I'm leaning toward the NAD because I like Music first
and heard from a couple people - including JC here,
that NAD would have an edge on Music.
I don't plan to use any EQ features
nor special DSP modes besides standard Dolby/DTSes.
AND I only have 5.1 speakers. No way my wife will accept
more than that... i'm happy i went this far already :-)

I also found that I would be able to control/setup the T763
through the serial port from the Media Center PC in the living room. Just download the Windows app from NAD.
Nice... I can already see how setup will go even faster than with the remote and OSD... now that's a nice feature for a PC folk like me.

Francois, welcome. You seem to have been influenced by some things that you've read or heard that somehow some receivers are better for music and others for HT. While those comments may be well-meaning, there's no factual basis for them; the job of amplifiers is to amplify sound transparently, regardless of whether it's coming from a violin or a machine gun. Pick a receiver with the features that you want at the best price that you can find, and don't worry about non-existant sound characteristics.

Thanks John. Well yes I have been influenced,
and well that's what I was looking for.
I never owned a receiver before, let alone speakers.
So all I feel I can do is read the web and listen to some
receivers at the store. And ask friends
about any pitfalls to watch for in advance.
This now includes the Axiom board, so thanks
all for your input to date. Knowing someone that used
M60s with a certain receiver really helps, even though
I might have different tastes.
Because I haven't listened to much music
over speakers other than in my car through the standard Toyota sound system, it's hard for me to tell the difference
between any of them. I guess a course would be nice,
i even live close to Ottawa's NRC; my wife even worked there
for a few years. I remember reading Alan Lofft explaining how some blind tests were done at NRC with volunteers; they'd educate them a bit about basics and then they'd let them blind-test.
I wish I was one of those lucky testers to get that small but important education under my belt.

So i'll recap the features i'm really looking for to see if i could change my decision now... (T763 or Y 4600)

Power -> my wife is the one jacking up the volume, quite high actually. So something to fill my living room of 14x22
with open space to the kitchen and stairs would be important. T763 has more power than the Y 4600 I believe
from the specs.

Music -> I'll disregard my penchant to NAD. tie.

HT -> Yamaha can add Presence speakers. Wife doesn't like.
Tie.

EQ -> Y 4600 has one, but i would not use it. Well maybe
for evaluating speaker distances. Y 4600 wins here.

Headphones support -> Huummm. I don't know ! Anybody ?

So... I'll stay with the T763 for now mainly for the Power.
But there's less of a Delta now.

Listen to both and decide for yourself. I have never heard a Yamaha receiver, but I do own a NAD C352 Integrated amp and I love it. One thing is for sure, the NAD will provide the stated power it advertises. I know my 100 watt Pioneer is nowhere near 100 watts. I believe that Pioneer, Yamaha and Denon will not drive 5 speakers at the wattage they advertise. Harmon Kardon, NAD, Rotel and others do.

In reply to:

---

Harmon Kardon, NAD, Rotel and others do.

---

Thought H/K had their wrist slapped for exaggerating recently.

Bren R.

Ouch, hadn't heard that.