Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
solid built, crystal clear sound, rich and beautiful. However, as a casual listener, I don't understand why there exists white noise from my speaker when I turn on the volume over half (after 12 oclock position). This happens when only my AV7 is turned on, no other players, and the noise from speaker increases with high volume. It seems that the receiver produces this noise after it is turn on, isn't it suppose to be quiet and keep noise from sending to the speaker? anyone can help me on this question? thanks in advance it supposed to be

Strengths:
clear sound, rich high and mids

Weaknesses:
strange white noise after turned on(maybe my setup problem)

Price Paid:  $350.00 from HiFi dealer

Summary:
I got rid of my old NAD, don't remember to model number, but it was rated at about 35watts and high amperage. I push a set of Paradign 11SE's rated for 400watts. The Nad never distorted the sound due to the soft clipping feature. The Nak. distorts the sound once you get past 1/4 volume. Also the LED on the volume knob no longer works. Felt like the wiring for the LED inside pulled out when I cranked the volume past 1/2.

This thing is going out the door, thinking of a Yamaha or back to NAD.

Strengths:
Price

Weaknesses:
no phono input, distorted sound past 1/4 volume, cheap feel to dials and push buttons

Similar Products Used:
n/a

Price Paid:  $190.00 from Internet

Summary:
I buy this receiver from internet for US$190.

Since this stuff is my first receiver I have, I can not compare with the other peer brand (I think this is fair enough).

But in my opinion, this product deliver sound that I want to hear, bass is not too low, treble is not too high, clear midrange, crisp, "excellent in Price/Performance ratio".

The only noise that I hear (from around 10 cm distance) is wind blow generate by fan for Heat reduction (not a "Fan Noise").

Configuration:

Philips DVD Player DVD956K
Nakamichi AV-7
Bose 301 IV
Stereo Mode

Weaknesses:
No digital input

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $400.00

Summary:

I purchased the AV-7 receiver 1 month ago. I'm not an audiophile hotshot. I bought this receiver along with a pair of Tannoy mX2's, Jamo 2.5 square mm cable with banana plugs. This is my first Hi-Fi system.
First of all, did you know there's an european version of AV-7 (wich I bought)? The diference between the european version and other versions is that this one has RDS,
an ON/OFF button at the back and a slightly modified remote.
Now, let's talk about the build quality: mine is quilte a solid build, no problems here.
The tuner is very good. Some reported it sucks, it doesn't stay locked on the stations etc. Well, I have none of these problems, the tuner works great. The tricky part about it is placing that 300 Ohm cable for FM reception. This is the only impediment for a great audition (reception bars indicator for many radio stations are at maximum - 10 bars).
I heard some complaints about the fan noise. It's only annoying if you have ears as sensitive as a bat's wich I don't think it's possible for humans.
Conclusion: the fan noise is barely hearable.
I can't talk about the amplifier part because I never listened to a high quality amplifier/receiver so I can't compare. Second, my source for the moment is the PC
(wich is not a high quality source). But I'm very happy with it, great stuff indeed.
I'm from Romania, I bought it from Romania and we romanians say that the worst quality stuff reaches our stores. Well, it is true in most cases but in this case,
I got good stuff, for good money of course (400$).

Strengths:
Everything

Weaknesses:
No small/large speaker option

Summary:
This receiver is one of the best if not the best of all amps within this price range. You simply cannot get a better sounding receiver for under $500. I initially bought it for music listening and paired it up with the ff:

Klipsch KSB 3.1 speakers
Denon DCM-270 CD player

The sound quality was simply outstanding, considering I paid for less than $1000 for the whole set-up. I got the Nak for ~$300 off Ubid, the Klipsches for $120 each also from Ubid and the Denon DCM-270 from the local Sears store for $200.

I recently made the switch to DVD and added the ff. equipment to get Dolby Digital and DTS capability for a home theater:

Klipsch KSB 1.1 for surround speakers ($52 each at Ubid)
Klipsch KSC-C1 center speaker ($140 at Vanns.com)
Pioneer DV-525 ($250 from Crutchfield)
Technics SH-AC5000D DD/DTS decoder ($200 from Sears)

Needless to say, this set-up more than surpassed my expectations. For about $1700, I was able to set-up a great audio/video system, all centering around the Nak.

Strengths:
Warm, pristine, crystal-clear sound. Great value receiver.

Weaknesses:
Mediocre radio tuner - but at this day and age, who listens to the radio anymore?