Nakamichi RE-10 (used) vs NAD 325/326BEE vs Azur 640A vs Marantz 7001\7003

[cmsajith]

Please sombody help me in comparing the Nakamichi RE-10 (used) vs NAD 325/326BEE vs Azur 640A vs Marantz 7001\7003. Anybody recommends this Nakamichi amp (used)? Please respond asap...

 

[pras123]

i think every newbie is a victim of unavailability of variety of setups during auditioning at every so-called HI-FI dealer shop. each dealer is somewhat biased towards a particular brand and try to convince buyer to listen according to him. Moreover, i am not accusing them of this act too, because every dealer cannot be a dealer for each n every brand, obviously! So please forumites, kindly try to give all of your opinions as and when possible to any newbie. Like i am not able to get to audition a NAD in chhattisgarh, Raipur city, or at kozhikode kerala. can anyone suggest any place in kerala? may be cochin?

 

[iaudio]

i think every newbie is a victim of unavailability of variety of setups during auditioning at every so-called HI-FI dealer shop. each dealer is somewhat biased towards a particular brand and try to convince buyer to listen according to him. Moreover, i am not accusing them of this act too, because every dealer cannot be a dealer for each n every brand, obviously! So please forumites, kindly try to give all of your opinions as and when possible to any newbie. Like i am not able to get to audition a NAD in chhattisgarh, Raipur city, or at kozhikode kerala. can anyone suggest any place in kerala? may be cochin?

Sajith, I guess you are referring to hi fi mart ad of the unit for sale in tvm. It seems to be a stereo reciever, so one advantage is it will have display and fm most probably. But SQ is something only our hfv gurus can comment on. Rs 16k is the asking price right? Is there a particular power requirement you have in mind for your stereo needs? Online feedback seems to be generally positive about this product.

Pras, I think our forum members always give a wide variety and time and again insist the newbies to audition all available options without bias. I cant say the same about dealers though.
The shops dealing in hi fi in cochin are hi fi links, Decibel etc. Then there are a few private guys who are not really 'listed'. I dont think we have a NAD dealer here.
Lakozy Impex and Services
Showroom No 3, Lakozy Mansion
21 Chowpatty Seaface
Mumbai 400007, India
+91 22 23697001/02
+91 22 23698001 (fax)
[email protected]

Why dont you email them expressing your interest and ask to arrange a convenient audition?

 

[cmsajith]

Sajith, I guess you are referring to hi fi mart ad of the unit for sale in tvm. It seems to be a stereo reciever, so one advantage is it will have display and fm most probably. But SQ is something only our hfv gurus can comment on. Rs 16k is the asking price right? Is there a particular power requirement you have in mind for your stereo needs? Online feedback seems to be generally positive about this product.

Pras, I think our forum members always give a wide variety and time and again insist the newbies to audition all available options without bias. I cant say the same about dealers though.
The shops dealing in hi fi in cochin are hi fi links, Decibel etc. Then there are a few private guys who are not really 'listed'. I dont think we have a NAD dealer here.
Lakozy Impex and Services
Showroom No 3, Lakozy Mansion
21 Chowpatty Seaface
Mumbai 400007, India
+91 22 23697001/02
+91 22 23698001 (fax)
[email protected]

Why dont you email them expressing your interest and ask to arrange a convenient audition?

Yes, its from HFM. Anybody has an idea about the SQ compared to the others listed above?

 

[iaudio]

I ain't very sure whether that Nak uses the patented "Stasis" tech that Nak was licensed to use by Nelson Pass of Threshold from the days in mid '80s when Nak got into making amplifiers like the PA-5 & PA-7.

Later, in the '90s, Nak went in the hands of the Chinese - so wonder if the RE-10 is an Original Nak design or a Chinese one. The Chinese ones are just pure c**p in front of the earlier ones. BTW, stasis was implemented in the Nak Receivers like the TA-series (TA-1/2/3/4) & SR-series (SR-1/2/3/4).

The RE-10 though is a 100 watt per channel @ 8 ohms unit using 'Nakamichi Harmonic Time-alignment Technology' with a high-current power supply but I don't see Stasis on this one. It could very well turn out to take the pants off the NAD & Azur provided that RE-10 circuitry is authentic.

Wiki says;
Nakamichi licensed "Stasis" technology from powerhouse amplifier manufacturer Threshold (a class A amplifier circuit by Nelson Pass, then a designer at Threshold, now at Pass Labs). This circuit was used in a line of expensive Nakamichi PA series of power-amplifiers, such as the PA-5 and PA-7, as well as their SR and TA series of receivers.

Opinion on Audiogon is that Re series lack Stasis and is not as good as the Ta, SR series.
AudiogoN Forums: Older Nakamichi Gear ?? Stasis ??

Someone mentioned that it is powerful but slightly harsh. Again, we have to take it with a pinch of salt.

 

[gobble]

As a NAD 325 owner I would recommend it any day. I consider it to be a very good buy... one I am happy with.

Regards

 

[iaudio]

As a NAD 325 owner I would recommend it any day. I consider it to be a very good buy... one I am happy with.

Regards

Gobble, no doubt about it

Pras, Sajith bhai, The Malayalam daily, Malayala Manorama classifieds on Sunday often have used Nad amps and cdps on sale. Check it out.

 

[cmsajith]

I ain't very sure whether that Nak uses the patented "Stasis" tech that Nak was licensed to use by Nelson Pass of Threshold from the days in mid '80s when Nak got into making amplifiers like the PA-5 & PA-7.

Later, in the '90s, Nak went in the hands of the Chinese - so wonder if the RE-10 is an Original Nak design or a Chinese one. The Chinese ones are just pure c**p in front of the earlier ones. BTW, stasis was implemented in the Nak Receivers like the TA-series (TA-1/2/3/4) & SR-series (SR-1/2/3/4).

The RE-10 though is a 100 watt per channel @ 8 ohms unit using 'Nakamichi Harmonic Time-alignment Technology' with a high-current power supply but I don't see Stasis on this one. It could very well turn out to take the pants off the NAD & Azur provided that RE-10 circuitry is authentic.

Its a "Made in Japan" amp. I think its not based on the Stasis tech. It has Harmonic Time-alignment Technology that they were using in all their amps. I think they were having only 2 models AV-10 and RE-10 before they stopped their amplifier category and these were marketed as their best.

 

[cmsajith]

With the absence of Stasis on this Nak, I would let is go irrespective of what it may be. I've personally used Stasis circuitry at one point of my life in the late '80s (Nak PA-7E-II) & later the Threshold SA-4e and must confess "it does make a huge difference in the overall temperament of the amplifier".

Do note that NAD & Azur are completely different sounding so it ultimately boils down to what loudspeakers they are mated with to get an overall soothing experience.

How do you compare the sound signature of NAD / Azur with Nak amps?

 

[iaudio]

The Nak amps employing Stasis were primarily PA-series.

PA-5 was rated at 100 watts per ch x 8 ohms with a 600VA toroidal & 10 bipolar output transistors per channel. Current delivery into real world loudspeakers was 12 amperes continous per channel & 35 amperes Peak per channel.

Its bigger brother was the PA-7 which was 200 watts per ch x 8 ohms with a 950VA Toroidal & 132,000uF of capacitance. It had 16 bipolar output transistors per channel with current delivery of 18 amperes continuous per channel while 50 amperes Peak per channel into real world loudspeaker loads.

Both these amplifiers were uprated by Nakamichi in the very late '80s to Mk2 whereby PA-5-II became 150 watts per ch & PA-7-II was 225 watts per ch.

These amplifiers are A/AB amps & had a warm, smooth power delivery yet highly dynamic sound & were very load tolerant. They could paint a big soundstage with sharp imaging & extremely good retrieval of fine nuances. These amplifiers were commonly called "a poor man's Threshold". The build quality was comparable with the Krell & Levinson class & they were not cheap at that time.

Niro Nakamichi took the goodies of his PA-series and incorporated most of it into his TA-series receivers. Later again, in the SR-series again. '80 was the best-of-the-best of Nakamichi - be it their cassette-deck, amps or car stereos. The PA-series Power amps had their matching preamps - CA-series, again a 5 or 7 to go with a CR-series cassette-deck - CR-5 or CR-7. The US 110V voltage models were marked "A" while the European 220V models were marked "E".

NAD's & Azur's are not comparable with above mentioned Naks. It's also unfair to compare them since the leagues are very different.

Audio engr, thanks for adding all that info to this thread.

 

[ajinkya]

I'm not sure why this so-called 'Stasis' technology is the be-all end-all for nakamichi amps. Why so much emphasis on it? What does it do? Are we saying that unless a nakamichi has 'stasis' it's a no-good amp? Would someone care to elaborate? Can't there be a comparison with 'normal' nakamichis vrs NAD/Azur/Marantz, which I thought was the original intent of this thread?

Thanks,

 

[cmsajith]

I'm not sure why this so-called 'Stasis' technology is the be-all end-all for nakamichi amps. Why so much emphasis on it? What does it do? Are we saying that unless a nakamichi has 'stasis' it's a no-good amp? Would someone care to elaborate? Can't there be a comparison with 'normal' nakamichis vrs NAD/Azur/Marantz, which I thought was the original intent of this thread?

Thanks,

The thread is to compare the Nakamichi RE-10 (not in the league of their very expensive power amps, but highly regarded as an budget audiophile grade, atleast the company was marketing like that). So i wanted it to be compared w/ NAD 325/326 BEE or Azur 540/550 or Marantz 7001/7003. Its not based on the Stasis tech, it was there only in their high end amps (PA\TA\SR).

I had a chat w/ the owner and it is a 5 year old amp and he was telling that he compared this with NAD C720 in his home setup (w/ Cadence Amaya speakers) and since he couldnt find much difference, he settled for this. He had upgraded his setup w/ Chord Pre-Power, so he is selling this.

Is it worth the price? Any idea where this amp stands on compared w/ the above mentioned amps from NAD\Marantz?

 

[cmsajith]

ok - here it goes.....

BTW - what's the speaker its going to work with?

NADs have fairly good power delivery with a slightly laid-back dark sound AND also shut-in sound. They are bandwidth limited in the upper octaves. NADs task was to make a polite sounding amp within the money.

Azurs are far more open sounding with better depth retrieval but skimp on power supplies hence quickly gasp for breath when pushed hard.

Marantz is quite an all-rounder with more prominence in the upper registers so careful matching required or else an ear-bleed.

This Nak should be of ample power hence takes on a bigger integrated NAD but likely to be prone to sparkling highs so careful with which speaker/cables you work with.

The very fact that the owner of the RE-10 moved to a Chord setup shows his strong preference towards sparkling highs.....

I asked him to compare this w/ Marantz and he was telling that it is not as forward as Marantz, but almost towards NAD. He had heard 7001 before, not w/ Cadence.

Currently i will be pairing w/ Space Audio TWR-6 towers (http://www.spaceaudioinc.com/prod6.htm). I am planning for a DIY tower in near future and is being discussed in this thread:
http://www.hifivision.com/diy/7018-diy-floorstand-speaker-help-required.html

Moreover is it worth for the price (5 year old)?

 

[cmsajith]

Looking at your present speaker's specs, the RE-10 would drive it to really loud levels with a strain.

Whether it will strain the speakers or amp?

Also, is the pricing correct?

Its a kind of warm sounding speaker w/ a decent soundstaging (currently used w/ Onkyo HTR-320, to my surprise it sounds better in my HTR-320 in Direct mode than PureAudio/Direct mode in my TX SR-606 (however 606 has more openness to the sound, but very poor in low-mid for music, but for movies, its a day n night difference than 320)

 

[cmsajith]

Anyways, thank you all for your comments. It was on the way to Bangalore on friday itself for 13K, wanted to do a final review of the deal before the cash is transferred to seller's a/c (got a delay of 2 days because of the weekend).

 

[iaudio]

Give us a feedback once you get it & try it.
We want to know what the RE-10 is all about.

Sajith, Congrats! So now two AVR's and a stereo integrated in the arsenal, eh!
Start putting it thru its paces and tell us all about it soon.:clapping:

 

[cmsajith]

RE-10 arrived y'day:yahoo:. I am posting some of my first impressions, I will do a detailed review later.
To all onkyo users (esp. 606) users, I will recommend a stereo amp anyday. Its a huge difference. I was thinking about NAD325/326 or Azur540/550. Thank God, I havent got any deal on them. This is altogether in a different league (auditioned 325 before, not 640/650). This is a warm sounding amp, word natural will be more accurate. The faceplate is golden in color, so it matches with my gold color of Onkyo 606. The biggest change i felt was the tonal difference with the instruments and the singers' voice. The mridungam, tabla are having a different tone compared to 606, its so sweet to listen to them with this amp.

This amp reminded me about a very good Sansui (Japan) setup at my uncle's house (during my PreDegree). It was an 9 piece unit (TurnTable, Tuner, Reverbration monitor, Pre-amp, 2 x Power-amps (one for each channel), twin Cassete deck w/ recording, CD Player, 14-band EQ) setup w/ Sansui's rack, 3 way towers w/ 12" drivers. Eventhough my amp is noway comparable to his setup, but this sounds almost the same. I remember him telling that I can take it if I want when he settled in Dubai. Later I was repenting on loosing that chance. (As everyone says during that age, the priority for pure music will be very less). The funny thing was that I myself gave it to one Duty-free shop to sell that. Now I am happy to get a similar sound signature amp.

Another big difference is the b/g ambience created by this amp (esp w/ the second order of guitars (they are in b/n the lead guitar and the base guitar), the b/g violin scores and the elec. organ scores) esp. in malayalam songs. The voice of the singers have more depth and clarity. The power difference is apparent, was in the 8-9 o clock position (apartment). It was a long crazy listening session (from 5PM to 2AM one after another and had dinner at 2AM (my wife and kids are not here for some days), not because of the listening sessions)

Once again thank you all for your suggestions.

 

[gobble]

It was a long crazy listening session (from 5PM to 2AM one after another and had dinner at 2AM (my wife and kids are not here for some days))

Haha this can become quite an obsession!! :lol:

Enjoy the listening!!

Regards

 

[madbullram]

Awesome I am so so glad you loved it. Its more sweet bcos u went with it without auditioning so the risk was higher. Very glad about it ajith

 

[Asit]

Great! Congratulations! I am happy to know that it was up to your expectations and perhaps more.

I'd like to know what are the other components like speakers and CDPs etc you are using with this amp. That would give us a better idea. I am sorry if you provided those details already and I missed it.

I know the feeling when nobody's home and I can listen to music without anybody seeking my attention. Having dinner at 2 AM is not a good idea. I usually order pizza (from Pizza Hut) before it gets too late. It comes hot and ready to eat. The only botheration is to get up and pay off the guy who is delivering it.

Have fun !

Regards.