2. amps-preamps
  3. 1118142012

NAD 3140 - I know nothing

I have just bought this NAD 3140 integrated amp and know nothing about it at all. In fact, I know nothing about hi fi at all, but I love well-reproduced music (jazz, classical, really old blues and other American "roots" music, and lots more besides), so I want to start learning. Unfortunately, my budget is extremely meagre.

I've searched around on the 'net and found references to a legendary NAD 3020 and a few others. They all seem to be well thought of, but nothing about this one, even specifications - and I don't even know how many watts output it has!

What I'd be most gratful for would be recomendations for cheap old speakers to match it, and a tuner too. Because I've read that CD players are more likely to be faulty, I've been thinking of using a new DVD player with it to play CDs (and kill two birds with one stone - I'll be able to watch DVDs too) - is that a good idea?

Just can't seem to get this kind of advice down here in New Zealand!
wetagogo
wetagogo OP
6 posts
 
Hi all - I've bought some speakers which really appeal to me and, I believe, let me hear what the 3140 can do.

I went to one of the few shops here in Auckland, New Zealand, which sell used gear. I took the 3140 and my (cheap, old) Sony CDP-XE500 CD player and some favorite CDs, and listened to about a dozen pairs of bookshelf (and a bit bigger) speakers.

The ones I bought really stood out against the new and used Mission, Audio Research, Klipsch, Morduant Short and others I listened to. They even sounded better than some much more expensive models.

These JBL HLS610 bookshelf speakers sounded so smooth, full, expressive, warm, clear, clean, detailed, and airy when compared to the others I just had to have them.

When I got home I searched the net for reviews and found a very enthusiastic one by Cory Greenburg of "Audio" magazine which, among other things, said "as soon as the HLS610s started singing, I knew that they were special. They had that immediatly recognizable rightness to their sound that seems to elude all but a very few audio designers" and "The sheer amount of recorded detail I heard from the HLS610s was a revelation". A .pdf copy of the review can be found here:

http://calasia.net/PDF/Magazine%20Reviews/Audio.pdf
quadophile's avatar
quadophile
418 posts
 
That is the best thing you have done, heard it, liked it and bought them. How much did they cost, if you do not mind just for reference. If you could also give your opinion on pricing of different speakers it may help some other in your area who are also members here.

Happy Listening!

Anis
gonglee3
304 posts
 
Glad you found nice speakers.
You sound like you are not %100 happy with CD.

If you want to upgrade, I would recommend a NAD CD player. They go together well with a NAD receiver.

You should be able to find used one for not too much at the auction.

You might want to get better cables - like Ixos or signal to hook them all up.

There is a lot you can do to tweak your system to sound better - If you still want more. I would read here -

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?hbest&1094164615&openflup&39&4#39
far_from_home_less
5 posts
 
NAD equipment works well together for the price. Nothing to apologise for.
More to discover