Goal: To awaken my SB-2's with some real power..

Like all things in audio, there are different opinions on what is the "right" answer.

I'll give you my version of the "right" answer:

Most brand name receivers will sound the same in the same price range.

Therefore, in the same price range, a Denon will sound the same as an Onkyo as a Yamaha as a Pioneer as a NAD as a...etc.

I haven't heard the Panasonic, but I've heard good things about it. Digital amps are supposed offer a good amp for a low cost. There are some downsides when you get to the high end stuff -- something about sampling frequencies not being high enough with today's semiconductors or some such thing.. As I recall, the person who made this point was someone wickedly smart about such things. Also, to put it in persepective, his system was probably in the $30k+ region, so a $250 receiver would never have entered his equipment list.

In the end, I'd see if there was some store that would allow you to audition the receiver in your home. For example, Best Buy or some other mega-store should have them with a good refund policy. If it doesn't make your system sound appreciably better, take it back. If it does make it better, I'd say go with the Panasonic and worry about the NAD (or other brand) later. I'd accept that the NAD will give you a better sound, but the incremental improvement may or may not be worth the expense.

Again, just my $0.02.

JCD

I own a 743 in my family room HT and have used it many times and quite successfully in many a HT designs/installs I've done. Most recently replacing someone's THX certified Pioneer receiver. But like JCD said, it's in the "ear" of the beholder. NAD amps are VERY clean and can pound!

Don't worry about "sensitivity" with NAD products, I've run them with highly unefficient speakers (low 80's) and they work like magic.

I have access to almost every product out there...why do I choose NAD 90% of the time? Musicality...while NAD does not have the bells and whistles of other manufacturers...it puts the $$$ into the parts that count. The amp does not colour the sound, but just represents it as is. Compared to a Panny or Yamaha amp...it will sound "I hate this term," more laid back. But IMHO those other amps are more (another term I hate but folks understand) forward sounding, so depending on what sound YOU LIKE, go that direction.

Amps will sound differently with different speakers...so match according to your tastes. There is a point of diminishing returns as well. Buying a pair of little bookshelf speakers costing $500/pair and matching them with a $20,000 amp...IMHO makes NO SENSE! So again as JCD said, given your equipment you may or may not hear any differences.

BTW...$400 for a warrantied T743 is a GREAT PRICE! I'd jump all over that one!!!:hail:

First of all thanks for that post, it puts things into perspective for me.
Secondly, with the Nad I know i'll be getting a killer amp as well as preamp.This is what has me sold on the Nad thus far. For an incremental jump in price I get a nearly future proof option. If for example somewhere down the road I move into a bigger listening space (which I hope :laugh: ) with the Nad the option is always there to add an external amp. This is not an option with the Panny, in fact it would defeat the whole purpose of using digital amplification wouldn't it? Assuming the external amp is an analog unit.

The NHT's by nature seem to be a laid back type of speaker and I love their sound, even when powered by the Onkyo. So, I am not affraid to go to a laid back amp only because I like the laid back sound.

NorwegianDawg,One thing I didn't quite understand was when you mention "There is a point of diminishing returns as well. Buying a pair of little bookshelf speakers costing $500/pair and matching them with a $20,000 amp...IMHO makes NO SENSE! So again as JCD said, given your equipment you may or may not hear any differences." Do you think the Nad is perhaps too much amp for the SB-2's? When I hear my Sb-2s or even see them, I hardly think of them as ordinary bookshelf speakers with 6.5" drivers. I think of a very refined, smooth, laid back, and nearly holographic speaker that requires more power than the typical bookshelf speaker to "sing" as some say...

I put this system together, assuming everything would work as intended. It does for the most part, but I did make a mistake by going with the cheapest option for amplification and now I am paying the price for it. Id rather buy too much amp than not enough amp this time around so as not to make the same mistake again...:T