NAD 758v3 vs Marantz 5014 vs alternatives and speaker advice

[deagle]

Hi all, looking for some feedback on receiver choice. Need ARC and front pre-out, eARC and 4k HDR support would be nice.

My current gear:
LG B7 OLED
Amazon Fire Stick 4k
4th gen Apple TV 1080p
(soon) 4k Apple TV if they update it in the fall
JBL 305 active bookshelf speakers (bought for computer desk but use headphones mostly)
Definitive BP6 towers (girlfriend hates them, can't stay in living room. Will probably sell)
Definitive BP-2 surrounds (trying to sell unless I should keep)
DefTech CX-1 center (trying to sell unless I should keep)
Swans C2 center
Open to Chane center or something comparable

I'd also like some room correction as the condo living room has a large glass wall to the right of the TV, dining area behind the sofa, an open kitchen farther on the left, and staircases doing up and down on the front and back of the kitchen.

I know should probably just drop $1000 on a Denon 4500/3600 but I'm trying to spend less. Refurb 5014s are ~700 and used 758v3s are ~800. I've read the tests and I realize they are not in the same league but they have ARC (Denon has eARC), the NAD has Dirac, and both have Atmos. I don't see me going beyond 5.1.2 or 7.1.2 in this condo and I don't crank the volume like I used to. The fronts are active and I'm open to external amps.

I wish someone would just make a simple multi-channel ARC DAC/preamp so I could use my old analog receivers/amps... Evolve II-4K is tempting then I'd need an ARC converter in front of it.

Thanks.

 

[Dj7675]

Hi all, looking for some feedback on receiver choice. Need ARC and front pre-out, eARC and 4k HDR support would be nice.

My current gear:
LG B7 OLED
Amazon Fire Stick 4k
4th gen Apple TV 1080p
(soon) 4k Apple TV if they update it in the fall
JBL 305 active bookshelf speakers (bought for computer desk but use headphones mostly)
Definitive BP6 towers (girlfriend hates them, can't stay in living room. Will probably sell)
Definitive BP-2 surrounds (trying to sell unless I should keep)
DefTech CX-1 center (trying to sell unless I should keep)
Swans C2 center
Open to Chane center or something comparable

I'd also like some room correction as the condo living room has a large glass wall to the right of the TV, dining area behind the sofa, an open kitchen farther on the left, and staircases doing up and down on the front and back of the kitchen.

I know should probably just drop $1000 on a Denon 4500/3600 but I'm trying to spend less. Refurb 5014s are ~700 and used 758v3s are ~800. I've read the tests and I realize they are not in the same league but they have ARC (Denon has eARC), the NAD has Dirac, and both have Atmos. I don't see me going beyond 5.1.2 or 7.1.2 in this condo and I don't crank the volume like I used to. The fronts are active and I'm open to external amps.

I wish someone would just make a simple multi-channel ARC DAC/preamp so I could use my old analog receivers/amps... Evolve II-4K is tempting then I'd need an ARC converter in front of it.

Thanks.

Just a few comments..
I owned the NAD T758 and sent it in to Amir to review.
Dirac is very good (in particular if you prefer to correct the full range)
I found it lacking in features in comparison to the Denon I have now. It sounded fine but found the louder I played it the more harsh it sounded. If you read the thread on AVSForum it is pretty littered with reliability issues as well. DAC measures poorly (I believe it measures ok up to around -6 on the master volume) and amps also measure relatively poor Compared to Denon as well. Besides Dirac, there is no reason IMHO to purchase the NAD. But Dirac is a must have for some people so I can understand the appeal. Using Audyssey with the app actually works very well. If you get a 3600/3700/4500 you may not need external amps at all as they measure well. If you want to spend less, you may find an X3500 which also measures similarly if you keep it under reference level. I own an x3500 with M106 in our living room and an X8500 in our theater And have been very pleased with both. YMMV

 

[StefaanE]

Hi all, looking for some feedback on receiver choice. Need ARC and front pre-out, eARC and 4k HDR support would be nice.
I wish someone would just make a simple multi-channel ARC DAC/preamp so I could use my old analog receivers/amps... Evolve II-4K is tempting then I'd need an ARC converter in front of it.

Canton have such a product, the Smart Connect 5.1. It’s designed to drive their wireless speakers, but it has 5.1 analogue outputs too.