Does anyone have experience with a relatively inexpensive A/V Receiver ($500-700) used with a naim setup?

I have a Nait 2 and will continue to use that to power the front 2 speakers. I am not overly concerned due to lack of funds for spending too much to power the center and rear channels. I would like a tuner as well and so I am leaning toward a receiver. For the price range, I'm thinking Yamaha vs Denon vs Marantz. I was told a receiver with a discrete preamp like in the Marantz will be better with naim than those that use chips.

I used to use a Yamaha E492 - that is now a part of a bitsa system I use in another room.

It worked fine, and I used it for a year or so before moving onto a Parasound processor with all round Naim power amps.

The important thing is to check that the machine you buy allows you to take a pre-out signal to your Nait.

I then set up the system to play with, in your case, your Nait volume control at the 12 noon position.

To allow for future flexibility I would try and buy a machine which allows 5.1 input as well. If you then upgrade your processor you can continue to use the receiver amplification until funds permit a further upgrade, which is how I used the 492.

Trying to choose between Yamaha, Denon and Marantz can be an issue on this side of the pond - due to GOOD dealerships not holding all three.

Personal extended audition is the way to go - if you can.

Martin

Thank you for your reply. None of my local dealerships carry all three products either.

I probably can't go wrong with any of them considering that I am looking at this as an introduction into theater and will eventually continue to upgrade.

Personally if this is an introduction to HT, then I would consider a Yamaha DSP-E800 second hand. You should be able to get one for less than US$180. Although not the latest technology (will still do DD5.1/DTS, etc), it is a surprisingly good match for Naim amplification and contains amplifiers for centre and rear channels and provides pre-outs for all channels so you can connect your Nait2 for l-R front pair.

Many forum users used them as an introduction to HT, but beware the slope is slippery and if you like HT you will go on an upgrade path!!!

Mr Perceptive

Taylormade,

I haven't tried it in the context of a Naim system, but I have been quite impressed with the performance of the Denon AVR1906 which has just come out. It retails for about your $500 here, and offers a great deal of functionality for the money, as well as sounding pretty damn good, even with a £2700 surround sound set of speakers on the end. It shouldn't have been able to do that.

The Yamaha DSP-E800 may be a great match for Naim but it doesn't seem to be a common item on ebay.

I think I'm going to go with the Yamaha RX-V657. The auto setup will be beneficial, especially with the routing through the Nait.

Anyone with experience with Integra receivers? I did a search of websites for all the Naim dealers in the US and it seems that they often carry Onkyo Integra and Rotel.

I find it very hard to find a review on Integra equipment. Does anyone have direct experience with either an Integra product or Rotel receiver with Naim gear?

quote:

Originally posted by Taylormade:
Does anyone have experience with a relatively inexpensive A/V Receiver ($500-700) used with a naim setup?

{snip} I'm thinking Yamaha vs Denon vs Marantz. I was told a receiver with a discrete preamp like in the Marantz will be better with naim than those that use chips.

You really need to consider the units as a whole unless you are only using the processor section. I would side with Frank, I've always found Denons to be much more satisfying in performance than the other two

I went from a Naim seperates setup to a Denon AV receiver (3805) and to my ears (and my wife's) it was much better at the PRAT side of things than the other AV receivers. The biggest shock was how odd the Arcam gear sounded, very open and clear but the bass sounded like it was coming from a different room. That was on music, on movies the Denon was much better at the dramatic stuff (i.e. the first 5 minutes of "Master and Commander"
Of course, in an ideal world I would have gone for a Naim AV setup...
Incidentally, I can confirm that the Yamaha DSPE800 is well worth looking at - even as a taster to see if you like having surround sound in the house.

The Yamaha DSPE800 is better used with "6 Channel Input" allowing your DVD player to do the processing. I found this offered much better sound quality. (with my Naim pre-power driving the Front Mains) Rather than using the E800's own processor. The difference was very obvious to my ears.

The Naim amplification offers excellent clarity on film dialogue with superb realism on sound effects from decent floorstanders (set to "Large") and avoids using an inferior centre speaker with your high quality stereo speakers.

You will still find that the Yamaha DSPE800 has its own deleterious effect on music when compared with a direct connection from your CDP or DVDP to your Naim kit. But not enough to spoil music DVDs which can be great fun.

You might even wonder how you put up with plain old stereo audio after sweating your way through a Metallica DVD with a lot of wick turned up in 4.1 surround.

Take a look at the just announced Naim N-Vi, one box player/processor/amplifier, AND it appears to have onboard digital amplification. Given the advantages re digital amplification, and the very short signal paths re processor to amps etc, it should sound sensational!

Very exciting news for HT Naimees!

Regards

John..

With respect John (and not wishing to dampen your obvious enhusiasm the least bit) the new n-Vi toy is around £3k (I think). The E800 can be had for under £200 and our friend is hoping to spend around $5-700(US) which is roughly £3-400 UK squid.

Oooops! Heheh, I got carried away there, and forgot that er, basic necessity...

Cheers

John...

Thanks for the input. Unfortunately, the Yamaha E800 is not available in the U.S. I think what I'll do is either go with the Yamaha RX-V657 with the Classe CAV-75 for power or go with the Classe SSP-25 and the CAV-75.

I'm not sure it makes sense to spend a lot on the SSP-25 considering it's out-dated technology. On the otherhand, I'll only be using a 5.1 setup, so maybe it doesn't matter that I have the latest processor.