Review and Measurements of NAD T758 V3 AVR

[North_Sky]

Whelp, impulse purchase last night, I bought a mildly used Arcam AVR850 so my quest for the T778 has ended. My T758 V3 is for sale.....

Congrats!

• https://www.soundandvision.com/content/arcam-avr850-av-receiver-review-test-bench

• https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/receiver-processor/receivers/arcam-avr850-surround-receiver/

• https://www.areadvd.de/tests/die-me...-vor-endstufen-kombination-in-der-uebersicht/

• https://www.areadvd.de/tests/xxl-te...tmos-ass-mit-dirac-einmessung-fuer-3-300-eur/

 

[Theriverlethe]

Whelp, impulse purchase last night, I bought a mildly used Arcam AVR850 so my quest for the T778 has ended. My T758 V3 is for sale.....

Interesting, it looks like this series is on sale right now. For $100 more than the T758, you get about 80W of clean power in the AVR390. This is pretty similar to the NAD unit, assuming Arcam's specs are more honest. The three additional HDMI inputs might be worth the extra money. No BluOS, but BluOS is pretty pointless if you have a Chromecast.

 

[audimus]

Good deal on the AVR 390. I find it amusing that since saying anything less than 100wpc (and Arcam does not provide garbage measurements) doesn’t do well in US markets, Best Buy et all market it as a 420W receiver unless you dig into specs.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/arcam-fmj-420w-7-1-4-ch-network-ready-4k-ultra-hd-and-3d-pass-through-a-v-home-theater-receiver-black/5713362.p

Has this unit been or will be updated to Dirac 2.0?

 

[Theriverlethe]

Good deal on the AVR 390. I find it amusing that since saying anything less than 100wpc (and Arcam does not provide garbage measurements) doesn’t do well in US markets, Best Buy et all market it as a 420W receiver unless you dig into specs.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/arcam-fmj-420w-7-1-4-ch-network-ready-4k-ultra-hd-and-3d-pass-through-a-v-home-theater-receiver-black/5713362.p

Has this unit been or will be updated to Dirac 2.0?

I’m surprised Best Buy even stocks Arcam. It looks like Dirac has been updated.

 

[HayGuise]

hi guys,

so for a similar price, the arcam 390 overall seems to be the better product, correct? Especially after that DAC Gate...?
The only thing which is holding me back is, that i barely ever need a new AVR (still using a denon x1000) and i mainly upgrade because of (a bit) better connectivity, dirac and because my remote control is broken

Best

 

[Theriverlethe]

hi guys,

so for a similar price, the arcam 390 overall seems to be the better product, correct? Especially after that DAC Gate...?
The only thing which is holding me back is, that i barely ever need a new AVR (still using a denon x1000) and i mainly upgrade because of (a bit) better connectivity, dirac and because my remote control is broken

Best

On closer inspection, Arcam doesn't claim their amps are stable into 4 ohms. This could just be a marketing effort to sell their overpriced separates, or indicative of a deeper problem. Who knows?

 

[chebum]

Arcam doesn't claim their amps are stable into 4 ohms.

I own AVR400 powering 3x 4ohm passive subs with Peerless 830452. No audible problems or sudden turnoffs.

I believe they say "not stable to 4Ohms" because many "4ohm" loudspeakers are actually 1- or 2-ohm loudspeakers. For example, Amphion Krypton rated 4ohm drops to 0.9Ohm at around 150Hz.

 

[Theriverlethe]

I own AVR400 powering 3x 4ohm passive subs with Peerless 830452. No audible problems or sudden turnoffs.

I believe they say "not stable to 4Ohms" because many "4ohm" loudspeakers are actually 1- or 2-ohm loudspeakers. For example, Amphion Krypton rated 4ohm drops to 0.9Ohm at around 150Hz.

What kind of SPL are you hitting?

 

[chebum]

What kind of SPL are you hitting?

During measurements REW with UMIK-1 report something around 100dB. Not sure how reliable this data is.
Never listened to the system louder than at 70 out of 100 volume setting. Usually volume setting is at 40-50. "70" is very loud.

 

[doodlebro]

I found this review as I narrowed down my choice for a new AVR, but decided to go for it anyways because I wanted Dirac live and might as well give NAD an honest shot at making a lifetime customer. A single perspective won't ever sway me.

So far I have been impressed, but this makes sense since the 758 replaced a Denon X2200W. I plan to send this Denon to Amir after the holiday and get some measurements to go with my subjective feelings.

 

[HayGuise]

what exactly is that better on the 758?

 

[doodlebro]

what exactly is that better on the 758?

Definitely less distortion, but also beefier amps. The NAD is currently driving more speakers than the Denon was, and to be comfortable loudness the Denon was about 10dB higher in volume.

Also the obvious difference between Dirac Live/Audyssey XT. I figure I'm not really investing in treatments and might as well get the best room correction I can until I do start investing in them.

 

[danb0y]

I'm under the impression that the measurements for this review were made with the pause/loudness issue.
IE: When I listen to PCM content on the T758v3, I always have to pause the PCM signal (TV, Netflix, whatever source) for 2-3 seconds and unpause it for the system to play loud. If the tests were made without pausing, I think that could explain why the measured results are so poor.

 

[danb0y]

Coming from a 10yr Denon AVR-4308CI, I replaced it with an Anthem MRX-520. After 4-5 days I wasnt very satisfied with my purchase and decided to replace the Anthem with the NAD. I never looked back, the NAD definitely sounds better and also stages better. I feel the sound is more transparent from the source to the speakers than ever.

 

[doodlebro]

I'm under the impression that the measurements for this review were made with the pause/loudness issue.
IE: When I listen to PCM content on the T758v3, I always have to pause the PCM signal (TV, Netflix, whatever source) for 2-3 seconds and unpause it for the system to play loud. If the tests were made without pausing, I think that could explain why the measured results are so poor.

I have also experienced this bug, but only when I am measuring with REW from my laptop... I think my Shield might be "auto pausing" before anything actually plays, so I don't notice it on that device.

 

[markymiles]

Can I just check that if the T758V3 is used as a pre amp only and is used with a power amp that only needs 1.1V to reach full power then the tests on here are no longer of any importance? Just curious as 2V is used on the tests that show it measuring badly and I won't be anywhere near that nor will I be using the internal amps.

 

[iflyadesk]

I bought one of these because I wanted to “upgrade” to Atmos and Dirac Live. I run Genelec 8010a satellites and SVS SB-1000 subs. As soon as I turned it on the noise was audible and unbearable. Changing any setting (like switching source, adjusting surround mode) produces scratching and popping sounds like a record player.

I googled “NAD T758 v3 noise floor” hoping I had a setting wrong and found this thread. 53dB SNR in the DAC? Are you kidding me? Thank you for publishing this. I can 100% tell you it’s audible. It gave me a headache after two hours. Luckily, Crutchfield is taking it back. I can’t believe this thing was recommended by Sound & Vision. Shame on them.

Have you found an 5.1.4+ channel Atmos Receiver or Processor yet that is any good?

Genuinely,
Sam

 

[Theriverlethe]

I bought one of these because I wanted to “upgrade” to Atmos and Dirac Live. I run Genelec 8010a satellites and SVS SB-1000 subs. As soon as I turned it on the noise was audible and unbearable. Changing any setting (like switching source, adjusting surround mode) produces scratching and popping sounds like a record player.

I googled “NAD T758 v3 noise floor” hoping I had a setting wrong and found this thread. 53dB SNR in the DAC? Are you kidding me? Thank you for publishing this. I can 100% tell you it’s audible. It gave me a headache after two hours. Luckily, Crutchfield is taking it back. I can’t believe this thing was recommended by Sound & Vision. Shame on them.

Have you found an 5.1.4+ channel Atmos Receiver or Processor yet that is any good?

Genuinely,
Sam

What you describe is not at all related to Amir’s measurements. It sounds more like a grounding issue, but could be a defective unit.

 

[iflyadesk]

What you describe is not at all related to Amir’s measurements. It sounds more like a grounding issue, but could be a defective unit.

Wouldn’t a 53dB SNR from DAC to line-level output result in an audible hiss if you use active speakers from an HDMI source?

I measured 37dB close mic from the Genelecs with nothing playing and volume set to what gives me 65dB at my listening position. With my Anthem MRX 520 using the same parameters, I get 25dB, which is also what I get with no source at all (probably Genelec’s noise floor).

25dB is not audible at my listening position 6ft away but 37dB very much was.

 

[Theriverlethe]

Wouldn’t a 53dB SNR from DAC to line-level output result in an audible hiss if you use active speakers from an HDMI source?

I measured 37dB close mic from the Genelecs with nothing playing and volume set to what gives me 65dB at my listening position. With my Anthem MRX 520 using the same parameters, I get 25dB, which is also what I get with no source at all (probably Genelec’s noise floor).

25dB is not audible at my listening position 6ft away but 37dB very much was.

Yes, but Amir didn’t measure noise floor - he measured SINAD. The -53dB 3rd harmonic he shows only exists in the presence of a full scale signal.