DENON AVR-1604 or NAD T742

[Vik's]

I'm going mad thinking about upgrading the whole homecinema system. And finally I found two options (DENON AVR-1604 or NAD T742). Unsure about that. What shoud I buy? Which one are best?

Will be used with Cerwin Vega! V-6F (10-140W/8Ohm/91dB) rears, Cerwin Vega V-12F (200-300W/8Ohm/98dB) front, and CERWIN VEGA V-5C (125W/8Ohm/91dB) center.

P.S. Sorry for posting in wrong place!

 

[eviljohn2]

If 6.1 is important to you it'll have to be the Denon 1602, but the Nad should be a much better receiver.

 

[Vik's]

Is NAD really so much better? 6.1 is important but not extreme... What +'s and -'s of Denon?

 

[eviljohn2]

The Nad will be significantly better.

Can your budget stretch to any of the better specified Denon's as the 1604 is the entry-level machine.

If you're prepared to go second hand a Denon 3802 or similar might be worth considering.

 

[balders]

The Denon 1804 gives a pretty good sound - better than the 1604, but can't compare to the Nad as I haven't heard it.

The 1804 is about £70-80 more than the 1604, so would be worth looking at if you can stretch that far.

I also noticed that the Denon 1803 is available from Empire Direct for £129, which is quite a bargain. It's got a little less power than the 1804, but would probably still be better than the 1604.

Good luck,

Balders.

 

[Vik's]

But what about the power? NAD have just
5 x 50W and Denon AVR-1604 have 75 W/each channel.

 

[eviljohn2]

Despite what the manufacturers quote, the Nad's power amp section is MUCH better than any of the Denon's and will deliver significantly more current across the whole frequency range.

The 1604 will struggle to give more than 25WPC with all channels driven, the Nad will easily do 50WPC through all 5.