NAD T775 - upgrade or something else?

[blahblah]

Hi All,

 

Looking for some advice from the brains trust... I have a NAD T775 which has served me well and is working fine.

 

However to replace the Video/Audio modules (VM300/AM230) to add 4K/Atmos support are around $2k-2.2k.

Have a 5.2 setup - Martin Logan Motion 12, 8, 4 and dual Dynamo 700W subs. Used with a 4K screen and 1080P projector.

Have an Oppo 1080p Bluray player that I'll upgrade at some stage.

While used for mostly movies, I do listen to music so audio quality fairly is important.

 

With a budget of around $1k-1.2k, my options seem to be:

• Install the VM300 4K video module which gives me 4k support and dual HDMI outs (something that would be nice).
• Maybe source a Emotiva MC-700 - seems to be buggy though.
• Buy a s/h AV receiver that's not too old, so more features, has 7.1 pre-outs and dual HDMI and use it as a preamp with the NAD. (e.g. Marantz SR50xx / SR60xx if I can get one)
• Buy something like the Sony STR-DN1080 which seems to get a reasonable rap (to replace the NAD)

 

Any other options or suggestions? 

[Quark]

17 minutes ago, blahblah said:

Hi All,

 

Looking for some advice from the brains trust... I have a NAD T775 which has served me well and is working fine.

 

However to replace the Video/Audio modules (VM300/AM230) to add 4K/Atmos support are around $2k-2.2k.

Have a 5.2 setup - Martin Logan Motion 12, 8, 4 and dual Dynamo 700W subs. Used with a 4K screen and 1080P projector.

Have an Oppo 1080p Bluray player that I'll upgrade at some stage.

While used for mostly movies, I do listen to music so audio quality fairly is important.

 

With a budget of around $1k-1.2k, my options seem to be:

• Install the VM300 4K video module which gives me 4k support and dual HDMI outs (something that would be nice).
• Maybe source a Emotiva MC-700 - seems to be buggy though.
• Buy a s/h AV receiver that's not too old, so more features, has 7.1 pre-outs and dual HDMI and use it as a preamp with the NAD. (e.g. Marantz SR50xx / SR60xx if I can get one)
• Buy something like the Sony STR-DN1080 which seems to get a reasonable rap (to replace the NAD)

 

Any other options or suggestions? 

 

I'd recommend anything but the Sony - it has a maximum power consumption of a puny 240W. With best possible class A/B efficiency of 70% that leaves 168W, divided by 7 channels leaves a throbbing 24W per channel. That's before you factor in losses for the processing functions.

[Wimbo]

Even though I have no experience on  the video module, I'd still get it after a lot of research.

Don't like the other alternatives.

[Snoopy8]

I never quite got the logic of the MDC upgrades.  For the price of the AM230 & VM300 MDC modules, you can purchase a new T758V3 (street price of about $2K) , which also gives the same audio and video capability plus bonus of  BluOS and Dirac Live.  BluOS and Dirac Live are excellent  for music playback.

 

With your budget, aim for second hand T758V3 and use the preouts.  Keep the T775 and use it as the power amp.  Maybe you can get a second hand Anthem MRX 520 (and Anthem Room Correction is as good as Dirac Live).  You should note that using an Anthem or a Marantz will give you a slightly different sound to NAD.   I would stick with the more musical brands, NAD, Anthem, Marantz and Arcam (exceeds budget!).

[cwt]

7 hours ago, blahblah said:

Hi All,

 

Looking for some advice from the brains trust... I have a NAD T775 which has served me well and is working fine.

 

However to replace the Video/Audio modules (VM300/AM230) to add 4K/Atmos support are around $2k-2.2k.

 

Skip the mc700 as well ; no object surround for a start . 

 

As a alternative ; Ide look at it from the perspective of what you really need for your current components  . Lose the 4k passthrough and just pass hdmi audio to the 775 and you wont need the vm300 presumably . With the am230 you gain  up to 7.1.4 and dirac live rather than audyssey  which is more important in your case 

 

Especially with  the 775 having better power amps than the current entry level model  , you dont need video transcoding with the vm300 and the 775 has dual dsp's - not just one like cheaper avr's.

If you dont want to run separate hdmi 4k 2k paths just get a $100 switcher.. 

 

NAD AM 230 Dolby Atmos Audio Module | Selby

Edited December 21, 2020 by cwt

[Snoopy8]

4 minutes ago, cwt said:

Ide look at it from the perspective of what you really need for your current components  . Lose the 4k passthrough and just pass hdmi audio to the 775 and you wont need the vm300 presumably . With the am230 you gain  up to 7.1.4 and dirac live rather than audyssey  which is more important in your case 

Well, I've learnt something today!     Didn't know the AM230 is the enabler for Dirac! 

 

Agree that video should bypass T775, and all OP should do is upgrade the audio board.

[Snoopy8]

BUT 

 

DIRAC Room Calibration on the AM230 Audio MDC Module also requires the appropriate VM130 or VM300 Video MDC Module installed on your receiver.

 

From 

https://support.nadelectronics.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006178893-Which-MDC-options-are-available-for-my-product-

 

Back to square one! 

 

 

[blahblah]

1 hour ago, Snoopy8 said:

BUT 

 

DIRAC Room Calibration on the AM230 Audio MDC Module also requires the appropriate VM130 or VM300 Video MDC Module installed on your receiver.

 

From 

https://support.nadelectronics.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006178893-Which-MDC-options-are-available-for-my-product-

 

Back to square one! 

 

 

LOL... I've asked NAD support if the  can be independently installed. I must admit dirac live appeals as I need all the help I can get with the room acoustics I have...

[Snoopy8]

11 minutes ago, blahblah said:

LOL... I've asked NAD support if the  can be independently installed. I must admit dirac live appeals as I need all the help I can get with the room acoustics I have...

Given you wanted it for music, Dirac Live is strongly recommended. I could live with the T758V3 for music when I had it (since changed to Arcam, but I also have a seperate stereo setup).

 

I think your option of reusing the T775 as the power amp and getting a used AVR with preouts is sound. But if you want room correction for music, avoid Audyssey, hence Marantz. 

 

If your budget can stretch to $2K, then upgrade to the 2 MDC modules and get a few more years out of the T775...

[cwt]

7 hours ago, Snoopy8 said:

BUT 

 

DIRAC Room Calibration on the AM230 Audio MDC Module also requires the appropriate VM130 or VM300 Video MDC Module installed on your receiver.

 

From 

https://support.nadelectronics.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006178893-Which-MDC-options-are-available-for-my-product-

 

Back to square one! 

 

 

should have remembered posting that before Snoop ;  bummer . Still would get a money back promise from selby and save some dosh and maybe an extra switcher and get some future proofing 

 

NAD VM 130 4K HDMI Video Module | Selby

[blahblah]

23 hours ago, Snoopy8 said:

BUT 

 

DIRAC Room Calibration on the AM230 Audio MDC Module also requires the appropriate VM130 or VM300 Video MDC Module installed on your receiver.

 

From 

https://support.nadelectronics.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006178893-Which-MDC-options-are-available-for-my-product-

 

Back to square one! 

 

 

LOL... I've asked NAD support if the  can be independently installed. I must admit dirac live appeals as I need all the help I can get with the room acoustics I have...

[blahblah]

It looks like the AM230 can be installed independently of the VM300. These boards are separate (looking at the pics) where as the VM130 (used in T75x models) has the AM230 board piggybacked on the one assembly.

 

https://www.selby.com.au/brands/nad-electronics/nad-am-230-dolby-atmos-audio-module.html

 

https://www.selby.com.au/brands/nad-electronics/nad-vm-300-4k-hdmi-video-module.html

 

Sadly, BluOS is only available with the VM300 installed.

 

https://www.selby.com.au/brands/nad-electronics/nad-bluos-accessory-kit-for-vm300.html

 

 

[blahblah]

Firstly, thanks for all the advice, it's appreciated...

So before I make a decision on the AM300, I can get a Marantz SR6010 for about the same price. While it's a few years old, it's got quite a bit of fruit and I can still use it as a pre-amp. Quite punchy too - 110w per channel two channels driven.

 

It does have Audyssey which includes support of two subwoofers which seems good.

"Audyssey Sub EQ HT™ makes the integration of dual subwoofers seamless by first compensating for any level and delay differences between the two subwoofers and then applying Audyssey MultEQ_® XT32 to both subwoofers together."

 

I get that the standard Audyssey isn't much chop but this appears better than that - is this still not as good as Dirac Live?

 

 

[Snoopy8]

. looks like you still want to get the SR6010.  Note that you will get the Marantz sound (has slight difference to NAD) and you should not use Audyssey for music, ok for movies.

 

This is a slightly old but relevant article of the various room correction software.

[cwt]

1 hour ago, blahblah said:

It does have Audyssey which includes support of two subwoofers which seems good.

"Audyssey Sub EQ HT™ makes the integration of dual subwoofers seamless by first compensating for any level and delay differences between the two subwoofers and then applying Audyssey MultEQ_® XT32 to both subwoofers together."

Its a bit complicated to add to Snoopys handy comparison . The audyssey sub eq is perfect for your 2 subs ; the nad would require a minidsp to combine or sum them . Does it have  parallel out for the lfe out  or independent  if you forgoe the minidsp? The minidsp is a substitute for dirac 2.0's DLBM which is the latest diracs bass management upgrade .   

 

Ide check if the nads dirac am230 is upgradeable to the full version so you could do good things like restricting its effect on the higher frequencies [like Floyd e toole recommends ] . The audyssey [though its good] wouldnt have this configurability without the newer editing options say a 8805 would have]

 

I have a bias to dirac as its a newer algorithm and also manages speaker phase interactions  ; if you have a look at the latest Mcintosh lineup [which is derived from Marantz] you will notice the lower tier use audyssey and the dear stuff uses room perfect from lyngdorf

[leven]

Ive said some mystical words, put some fetid dingo kidneys on the keyboard and brought this thread back to life…

 

Clearly being one to move quickly, I find myself in a similar situation as my original post from almost 4 years ago. The NAD T775 now needs a new remote, the HDMI board is failing. The upgrade boards don’t seem to be available or offer as good value. However, I’m now in a position to spend up to $3300 on a new AV receiver. 
On the short list are Dirac/Dirac ready ones - Integra 5.4 (if I can find a supplier in Perth), Marantz Cinema 50, Onkyo RZ50, Anthem MRX 540 and Denon avr4800. I had a bad experience with a Denon avr 3300 which kept blowing its power supply, so a bit twitchy. 
A good in built DAC (although I’ve got an early Schiit Bifrost DAC) would good as would be good video up scaling. 
I’m open to retaining the NAD as a power amp (7x100w rms all channels driven) and money saved could go towards a Dirac Live bass control license (and presumably a decent microphone?). 

 

I’m after Dirac as the room is difficult and I’ve never been happy with the results of the NAD audessey room correction. 5.2 speaker set up (2x subs) with maybe 7.2 in the future. 
 

So, any thoughts or considerations? 

Edited November 28, 2024 by leven

[Hi-Fi Whipped]

Great time to buy, there’s deals on pretty much all of your listed avrs

 

i don’t think you can go wrong with any of the Marantz, Denon, Onkyo or Integra they all get good user reviews

 

onkyo and integra do include full Dirac live without extra charges, denon and marantz don’t.

 

theres also 20% off Dirac atm.

 

pick your flavour and go for it!

Edited November 28, 2024 by Hi-Fi Whipped

[Snoopy8]

5 hours ago, leven said:

However, I’m now in a position to spend up to $3300 on a new AV receiver. 

On the short list are Dirac/Dirac ready ones - Integra 5.4 (if I can find a supplier in Perth), Marantz Cinema 50, Onkyo RZ50, Anthem MRX 540 and Denon avr4800. 

As noted earlier, you need to allow for an extra USD600 for DLBC for both the Denon and Marantz.

 

The MRX540 runs Anthem Room Correction, not Dirac.

6 hours ago, leven said:

 (and presumably a decent microphone?). 

Only Anthem supplies a decent microphone (and works only for family products). The rest supply pucks... 

[leven]

Thanks for the reply - I threw in the Anthem as it included their correction software (which I gather is pretty good) and the decent microphone. Also, realistically don’t expect to need more than 7.2 speakers. 
 

which I can get using the NAD as an amp. 
 

 

[Snoopy8]

Nothing wrong with Anthem (used to have one) and ARC Genesis Is very good. 

 

Since your are looking at Anthem, why not consider a used AVM60 or AVM70?  The 60 is considerably cheaper, being a generation older but no that far behind (from what I have read).  The 70 is better with 2 subs, calibrated independently; 60 runs subs in parallel.

[leven]

Thanks for the replies, appreciated!
 

I’ve had a look at the Anthem, Denon and Marantz this morning and bought a Cinema 50. At a smidge under $3k, I’ll leave Dirac for a bit - but have it as an option. 
 

Lol, it’s a little different to the NAD. I’ve clearly been living under a rock…

As an example, Apple AirPlay (for Music/Internet Radio) previously involved an AirPort Express connected to Ethernet, connected via an optical digital out to the Schiit BiFrost DAC, them analog out to the NAD. 

The HEOS app has some promise for convenience in addition to AirPlay.
 

Went through the setup, the subs were set too high initially so dropped the level controls to about a quarter. Will need to play with all this again but it seems to work well for the moment. 

Initial impressions are a more detailed sound over the NAD but will see in time. Watch a bit of Grosse Pointe Blank (the convenience store shot out/explosion scene) which I’d watched the other day with the NAD. A bit cliched perhaps but detailed/dynamic are the phrases that come to mind. 

Mainly listening to music at the moment and loving the surround music mode over NAD EARS - remember that from the Denon AVR3300 I had years ago. 

 

Overall pretty pleased at this point!