just started looking at some - does anyone have any experiences they would
like to share?

MAUOMBO

I had an old NAD -- circa 1990, about $450 -- preamp that, sadly, I traded
in. Sadly, not because it sounded all that good, but because it had remote
control and a decent tuner. I do not recall the sound being terribly
refined, but then, that was a time when I thought I could detect sonic
differences between cables. Blind or not, I assess NAD as offering better
sound than lo-fi equipment typically sold through major retailers, but that
it is worth waiting and saving for something more expensive because the
quality-per-dollar gradient is fairly steep around the $1000 level.

I think integrated amps are the way to go below 100 watts/channel.
Stereophile's Sam Tellig has reviewed a rash of them in the past couple of
years that would be on my list, and a number are readily available through
mail-order outfits.

Curt Simon

"MAUOMBO" wrote in message
...
just started looking at some - does anyone have any experiences they would
like to share?

MAUOMBO

I listened (or rather failed to hear anything) with the NAD S100 -- a nice
pre-amp, though about $1500 IIRC.

I would look at an integrated below 100Wpc for sure as they are pretty good
at that level. But I would also encourage you to work through and buy from
a local audiophile retailer - likely as not they will allow you to borrow
equipment to try out in your home when you are serious, etc. Most will have
the equivalent of whatever you might fancy if not the brand itself. The
marketplace is crowded enough that I do not think there are any genuine
category killers at that price range in integrated amps and you can get a
lot for around $1500 - $2000, and much higher than $3000 the laws of
diminishing returns hits hard!

I agree with the previous poster, though, NAD sounds better than the low end
stuff from the store generally.

On 5/2/04 11:07 AM, in article , "Curt Simon"
wrote:

I had an old NAD -- circa 1990, about $450 -- preamp that, sadly, I traded
in. Sadly, not because it sounded all that good, but because it had remote
control and a decent tuner. I do not recall the sound being terribly
refined, but then, that was a time when I thought I could detect sonic
differences between cables. Blind or not, I assess NAD as offering better
sound than lo-fi equipment typically sold through major retailers, but that
it is worth waiting and saving for something more expensive because the
quality-per-dollar gradient is fairly steep around the $1000 level.

I think integrated amps are the way to go below 100 watts/channel.
Stereophile's Sam Tellig has reviewed a rash of them in the past couple of
years that would be on my list, and a number are readily available through
mail-order outfits.

Curt Simon

"MAUOMBO" wrote in message
...
just started looking at some - does anyone have any experiences they would
like to share?

MAUOMBO