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Does NAD Gear Lack Soundstage?

Nordfors

Nordfors

Member
Serious question.
Before we start, yes, speakers are in phase. In each scenerio.
There's quite a bit of NAD gear in my area at relatively very affordable prices and thought I'd finally experience the sound for myself. A few years ago I picked up a 7140PE. Very rich sound, great highs, good left/right channel separation, but my initial thought was htat as far as soundstage it seemed like it was painted on the back wall. Very flat. DIdn't improve with various speakers. Don't get me wrong, its got a lot of power, bass and more bass, great sound otherwise. I've recently heard the same coment from a friend that has the 7175PE. Just no real soundstage to speak of.

Any NAD fans out there, or folks who've heard or had a few examples that had a similar or different experience? The NAD sound is a good sound, but I love a great, immersive soundstage.


Thanks!
 
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I had a master series NAD AV preamp about 10 years ago and did not like it at all. Sounded thick and lifeless to me. They may have improved since, but left a bad taste.
 
Well I only have a NAD 114 preamp, that I use with tube amps - not NAD amps, that's a fact !

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I do not complain about soundstage effect with my little 114, though...

But it's me, OK ? :biggrin:;)

T
 
Nordfors said:
Any NAD fans out there, or folks who've heard or had a few examples that had a similar or different experience? The NAD sound is a good sound, but I love a great, immersive soundstage.

Thanks!
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I've found there can be a big difference between NAD models and the years they were made. I'm using an old 1600 pre-tuner right now. It's over 30 years old. Someone told me the 1700 was better. I bought a good used one. It is not better. The sound doesn't have the smoothness and focus of the 1600.

I opened up both. The 1600 has an extra board and is made better.

On the advice of someone, I've tried Audio Research LS3. That pre-amp is really upfront and in your face! For my system and my ears, the NAD 1600 is still the best.

0b274abf-3183-4e24-9f3d-e3abaa8e34bb.jpg

1600's guts.

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1700's guts.


An LP sample. Subs on. ;)
Long, Long Time.
Linda Ronstadt. "Silk Purse." Capitol Records. ECS- 40101. Toshiba-EMI remaster, 1979.
Run-out: ST2 407 28 ... 〄 8 - 5
 
The NADs I've had have lacked soundstage.
Been through the 3020's(x3), 3140 and 3150(x2) when I first started out. Refurb'd each, the 3140 was ok-ish, then got a lowly Yamaha CA-410, complete budget item, with sound stage. Got a few NAD PE's and 2600's in the shed waiting, hopefully they will change my opinion...
 
I have in the past use many NAD units. All were nice sounding and performing. Have not owned any of their newest offerings yet. Someday maybe.
So can not comment on them. Had a 7140PE and with the right speakers it shined as I recall.

The only negative from me is the front panel and finish.

Still have a NAD 1000 preamplifier I use from time to time. All the others have gone on to new homes.
 
Nordfors said:
Serious question.
Before we start, yes, speakers are in phase. In each scenerio.
There's quite a bit of NAD gear in my area at relatively very affordable prices and thought I'd finally experience the sound for myself. A few years ago I picked up a 7140PE. Very rich sound, great highs, good left/right channel separation, but my initial thought was htat as far as soundstage it seemed like it was painted on the back wall. Very flat. DIdn't improve with various speakers. Don't get me wrong, its got a lot of power, bass and more bass, great sound otherwise. I've recently heard the same coment from a friend that has the 7175PE. Just no real soundstage to speak of.

Any NAD fans out there, or folks who've heard or had a few examples that had a similar or different experience? The NAD sound is a good sound, but I love a great, immersive soundstage.
Click to expand...
I am a NAD fan and have 7400PE, 7100PE receivers and a 3240PE integrated amp. All three are in good working condition. Each one has its own particular sound signature but are similar in many ways. I can listen to any of the three and be satisfied with the sound but the pecking order for me regarding overall sound quality is the 7100, then the 7400 followed by the 3240.

In January of 2024 my curiosity was peaked by the very good reviews of the just released Fosi ZA3 class D amp using the TPA3255 amp chip. I bought one and rotated it in place of the NAD 7100PE receiver. I had no expectations of it even remotely competing with any of my NAD gear. Well, to make a long story short, I had to come to grips with the ZA3 replacing the NAD receivers and the decision wasn't difficult to make. I eventually bought a second ZA3 and run them in a dual mono configuration. Then I added Fosi's ZD3 DAC when it was released. A Windows 11 computer is the source for 95+% of what I listen to (including my vintage gear) and is connected to the USB input of the ZD3. Also, I am not the only person here at AK, and elsewhere, that has had this experience.

By nearly every measure of sound quality the lowly ZA3s are better than any vintage gear I have personally used. They are dead quiet, have great soundstage, imaging, detail, dynamics, powerful, etc. All in for two ZA3s and the ZD3 DAC I spent well under $400. I spent almost this much on a recent repair and refresh on my NAD 7400. What this has taught me is that I will no longer use vintage gear going forward. This is because these newer high value components these days are just clearly better than much of the vintage components in use these days. As more and more of these high value components come out, and keep improving, they will put evermore pressure on the vintage market values. They will also put quite a bit of pressure on mid tier new components and make very good sound quality, low cost components available to the masses.

To summarize, IMO the NAD components I have sound good but when comparing them to newer gear I think they are somewhat lacking.
 
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tubelectron said:
I have the project to acquire a quality Class D amp - I note it - Thanks !
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Just be sure to get the 48v power supply with it. The ZD3 can run in a stereo or mono configuration. You can buy one and run it in stereo and then add a second one later if you want to go with a dual mono configuration. Or you can buy a pair of the newer model V3 Monos from the start which are slightly better than the ZA3s.
 
OldJBL said:
Just be sure to get the 48v power supply with it. The ZD3 can run in a stereo or mono configuration. You can buy one and run it in stereo and then add a second one later if you want to go with a dual mono configuration. Or you can buy a pair of the newer model V3 Monos from the start which are slightly better than the ZA3s.
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Hum.....I keep trying to ignore posts like this!!! Please leave me alone! I am a happy camper- why are you trying to lure me into spending $280 for 2 V3's? Amazon will give me a 5% discount on 2 and a 30 day trial. Some day I might forget to take my meds and in that moment of weakness I might just pull the trigger. Keep up the good work-I'm getting closer.

I had an NAD amp but it was 15-20 years ago used it on ADS 910's - I was a happy camper then too-no complaints. The 910's sounded great. I had them bi-amped but don't remember the other amp right now.
 
Lux Man said:
Hum.....I keep trying to ignore posts like this!!! Please leave me alone! I am a happy camper- why are you trying to lure me into spending $280 for 2 V3's? Amazon will give me a 5% discount on 2 and a 30 day trial. Some day I might forget to take my meds and in that moment of weakness I might just pull the trigger. Keep up the good work-I'm getting closer.

I had an NAD amp but it was 15-20 years ago used it on ADS 910's - I was a happy camper then too-no complaints. The 910's sounded great. I had them bi-amped but don't remember the other amp right now.
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b338b56b-4166-402c-922e-f97a12143605.jpg

One of my favorite amps was an NAD 2600A. Under my Tascam burner.
 
Lux Man said:
Hum.....I keep trying to ignore posts like this!!! Please leave me alone! I am a happy camper- why are you trying to lure me into spending $280 for 2 V3's? Amazon will give me a 5% discount on 2 and a 30 day trial. Some day I might forget to take my meds and in that moment of weakness I might just pull the trigger. Keep up the good work-I'm getting closer.

I had an NAD amp but it was 15-20 years ago used it on ADS 910's - I was a happy camper then too-no complaints. The 910's sounded great. I had them bi-amped but don't remember the other amp right now.
Click to expand...
LOL! I have been into audio since my early teens (mid 1970s) and then started buying more expensive stuff in the late 1980s after graduating from college. What I would consider my first decent system was based on a pair of JBL L100t3 speakers and an Onkyo receiver. Over the years I have used Sony ES, HK, Denon, mostly JBL speakers, higher end VHS, DVD players, etc. Then when I got my first HD LCD TV and turned it on it took me less than an hour to connect it to a computer and ever since every TV in the house has had a computer connected to it. I went through my fair share of AVRs over the years too.

Around 5-7 years ago I got into more vintage components (NAD, Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer) and was really enjoying it. Then the infamous ZD3 incident occurred. It has been over two years since then. There are still times when I am listening to a recording I haven't heard in a long time and I hear nuances in the songs now that I didn't notice before with the older components. What really bakes my noodle is the only tone controls I use is a computer program named Equalizer APO which is a Windows EQ program. The only place I use it is at 25/31/40 hz to give a slight bump to make the JBL L5s dig just a little deeper than their 35hz rated bottom. Otherwise everything it dead flat. With my other gear over the years I always had to manipulate the tone controls to tweak the sound to what I wanted. Between the ZA3s, ZD3, L5s and computer as the source all I do is that little bass bump. I feel like I am hearing what the producer and/or recording engineer intended. Lastly, I have pulled the ZA3s and ZD3 apart to install op-amps and am shocked to see how simple and minimal their designs are. I am not an electronics nerd by any stretch but I don't see how so much high quality sound can come from something so small, simple and inexpensive.
 
I’ve got a NAD 3300.
Some time ago I used it as a preamp for my Triode brd converted Dynaco MKIIIs.
swapping out the NAD amp for the tube amps did very little for the sound.
Some time later I swapped in my Scott LK72 and was surprised at the increase in soundstage and overall impact of the sound.
Further experimentation showed that the NAD preamp was holding the amp section back. I then fully recapped the 3300 and it got slightly better.
However replacing the preamp with a passive one I built was a significant improvement.
So in my experience it’s the NAD 3300’s preamp that doesn’t do as well as the LK72’s, the Shitt Saga’s, or even the preamp in my SX-1010.
 
I agree that NAD gear sounds great. I could see it as perfect for a garage where I'm all over the place, busy, or hanging with a few friends. Just great quality sound. Better in general than many amps and recievers I've owned. Or for a party, where no ones really in the focal point of the speakers. But for really listening to music, I'm starting to think they don't image very well. I don't think I'll ever get rid of my 7240PE. Got it for almost nothing. But I'd use it in applications where the sound needs to fill the room, but no holigraphy needed. I want to be wrong and have it turn out its just something off with the models I've heard or own. My gut (ears?) tells me it's maybe not.
 
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