[Jaz]

Hello,

I just bought two receivers on Ebay, and I'm planning to keep the one I like the best, then resell the other other.


NAD 7020i receiver
This is a newer (1990s) version of the 7020 receiver, which was based on the famous 3020 amp.
(more info on this amp)

Marantz 2220B Receiver

Once I receive this one, I'll get it cleaned and repaired by a professional technician..

I did not receive them yet, neither did I buy my new headphones yet (waiting for a good deal on HD580s...) but I would like to hear some comments about those two amps.


Which one do you think will be better for my needs:
-Driving a pair of Paradigm Atoms Speakers (8ohm)s
- Driving my HD580s
- Listening to FM radio with a good antena

I'll have my Sony DVP-s7000 DVD player and my technics SL-1800 turntable connected to the receiver.

Waiting for comments,

Thanks

 

[mkmelt]

Which one do you think will be better for my needs:
-Driving a pair of Paradigm Atoms Speakers (8ohm)s

I don't have any experience with these speakers

- Driving my HD580s

The Marantz can be a very good match for Sennheiser 580 and 600 headphones. I don't know if the NAD will perform as well.

- Listening to FM radio with a good antena

The Marantz will require the I.F. stages of the FM to be re-aligned by a qualified technician for best FM performance. NAD FM tuners are generally very good, however, subjectively digital tuners may not sound as musical as a good analog tuner fed a decent signal from a good antenna. With a good analog tuner, the broadcast program can sound organic and alive, as opposed to flat and somewhat lifeless.

For stereo listening with distant stations / difficult reception problems, the NAD will probably perform better in terms of multipath rejection and overall background noise levels.
With a good signal the Marantz should be an excellent performer.

If the signal is too weak for clean stereo reception, the Marantz switched into mono reception mode will probably win, if only because you have the ability to slightly detune the tuner from the center of the broadcast frequency in infinitely small increments to banish interference,something you cannot do with a digital tuner such as the NAD.

 

[Number9]

I have the older NAD 7020 and its fantastic, and BTW has a great headphone jack. I mean really good.

No experience unfortunately with the newer 7020i, but my guess is that the tuner sections of both the Marantz and NADs are perhaps just OK. Alignment will help, but you are still dealing with at best 3 gang tuners with perhaps 1 IF stage.

The tuner section of my 7020, while analogue, is just OK too, while my vintage Kenwood 8005 tuner is more sensitive, selective and detailed nicer.

Seems that the Marantz tuners are just so-so, despite the fact the 10B commands a kinf's ransom. NAD, never seems to have earned a reputation for their tuners, though I tried out the new T440 over the winter, and it was better than a Cambridge T500.