Bridged NADs vs. Rotel Ra - 1062

@cleeds 

Thank you for your insights!  I dont need that much power or loud sound, I care more about quality of music, I will take it in account!

@loomisjohnson 

I have no knowledge about amps, my journey just begins. So I asked in local facebook hi fi group about amps. And got offered bridged Nads, until then I didnt even knew about bridged amps. So I went to check local classified ads and found bridged NADs for sale that matches my budget. That is the only reason Im looking for bridged NADs. 

So  I asked here should I go for bridged Nads or something else like Rotel Ra 1062.

If not bridged Nads I found these in similar price range:

Nad c355bee 
Nad c356bee
Nad c372 

Though Nad c356bee is little bit over my budget. I could try negotiate the price If it would be the best option.

@mistermonitors the NAD and Rotel units are both value integrated units from around 15-20 years ago.  Nothing wrong with that, both brands have a solid reputation.  Rotel for value, their claim to fame is they are solidly built, punch above their weight class by always striving to deliver more value per dollar.  NAD is a bigger brand that offers products in various price brackets with some value products all the at up to some higher end gear.  I wouldn’t buy one of these older units and bridge them into mono’s, you can but you’ll likely lose more than you’ll gain.  The NAD C372 should be a nice option for you, it will likely drive most speakers, NAD has been in the space for a long time producing great products, when this originally launched was a unit that did everything well.  If you go the NAD or Rotel route, don’t spend too much on them, they retailed between $600-800 when new back 20 years ago.  If you can snag one for a $100-200 that’s in good shape, tremendous value if you are going to use it, not much value on the used market.  
 

If you wanted to go with a modern integrated there are some good options in the $1,000-2,000 range but that’s a big jump from what you are looking at. If you went with a more modern integrated you might not really gain much in performance but you would potentially gain a unit set up for a more modern set up incorporating streaming / digital.  

I have owned a couple of NAD C356BEEs, still have one. I believe them to be a good budget integrated amplifier. The C356 was preceeded by the C355 so the 356 would have less years on it.

As others have indicated I would stay away from bridging amplifiers. Use stereo mode. Just stay away from hard to drive speakers. 

Pretty much what @mesch said. While bridging amps isn't necesarily bad in and of itself usually, it can be if the speaker load is unstable or hard to drive.

I had a pair of Hafler DH-220s that I ran in bridged mode to drive a pair of ESL speakers. Sure, great power but something sounded "off". When I decided to use just one channel of each amplifier for each channel the difference was quite audible! There was much more detail and clarity and dare I say even warmer sound.

Yes having extra power is nice (440 wpc bridged vs 120wpc non-bridged) but depending on the speaker it can be problematic. Of course buying speakers that are efficient and easy to drive helps a lot. 

Happy listening.

@mm1tt77  Agree with most of what you say, but the used prices that you mention are probably unrealistic. A quick check on EBay had one for around $350.  Other places might be cheaper?