Sound is clear, clean, slightly warm & musical compared to AV amps in same price range. Power is sufficient to drive most speakers (drove 5 4ohm Totem speakers without breaking a sweat) and blows away Japanese amps in same price range

reliability, ugly remote, lacks cutting edge technology

Bought this from authorized refurbished dealer for next to nothing. Living in an apartment and listening mostly music & watching occasional movie I knew NAD was the budget musical receive I needed.

In 2 channel the NAD drove power hungry Totem speakers surprisingly without any strain but did lack some musicality compared to a just pure 2 channel integrated. But this is an unfair comparison as my integrated costd 3x the price and that amp itself bested amps 1-2x it's price.

Home theater was also good, there isn't any useless sound effects to clutter amp. For the average movie watcher, the connections/inputs available are more than sufficient for the average person. Sound volume/effects is quite good but obviously power is not ground shaking compared to more powerful dedicated HT amps with better chips.

If you want the best of both worlds in music/HT this amp maybe the one for you. You don't have to take my word for it, the successor to this amp the NAD T743 (almost the same with a few more connections) is highly praised award winner from Soundstage. Build quality reliability not up there with Rotel, Yamaha, Marantz, Denon, but musicality for the buck will perhaps make you forget about quality issues.

Having said all that, NAD still struggles with reliability problems. I knew I was rolling the dice when I bought a refurbished NAD cause sometimes the rear lright channel doesn't work until 10 mins into power on. I would have given a 5 star for value if it wasn't for this problem.

Similar Products Used:

NAD T752, Jolida, Bryston, Yamaha

Sound quality is consistent with that of NAD with an emphasis on being highly musical for a A/V Receiver. Few a/v receivers in this price range can match this capability. Quality of construction, style and appearance is top notch.

None

My affinity has always been for components which are highly musical. I was looking for a system for my bedroom that I could enjoy wathing movies and lisgtening to music in 2 channels. There was a short list of components that I was interested but NAD managed to be the most musical. This system has proven very capable with its primary role of a 2-channel audio system. The sound characteristics are very clean and easy to listen, even at high levels. I have this receiver paired with the NAD T513 DVD/CD player and a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 8.2s. The sound is very well composed without being too bright in the highs and punchy in the bass. The sound is very good, clean and relatively warm, but still not to the level a a dedicated NAD 2 channel receiver. The receiver really delivers a fully, warmer sound at higher levels, which is my usual preference.

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Marantz 7300, Denon 1803, Yamaha 457, Harmon Kardon 130

Solid construction. Low distortion. Easy to use. Warm but not lay-back sound. Good for cinema but just ok for music. can be use as pre-amp or power amp

cheap remote but easy to use power supply not the tri...something in another words not that powerful

Bought it for $750 australian dollar($1030 usd). My first attemp to get something truely creditable in the market. Of coz this is not an hi end. But for a newbie like me. This is a good stuff. It has power, sounds clear but warm. I use to have a really cheap speakers that i bought in black market. It sounds terrible. Especially when i use with my Pioneer cheap receiver. But when i connect The nad receiver to it. It sounds much better. or way better i should say. Even though its still not good, mainly because of the speaker. I believe this is an amazing amp. Many of you may think the power is small coz only 50w but to be honest, it's not. even if u use a less efficient speaker. BTW, you could use this as a pre-amp and add a power amp to power up and channel u like. Trust me it may not make u sweat, but it will certainly make u smile.

Similar Products Used:

Pionner D712 (cheap stuff) Denon

Power even with 5X50W, it can drive 4 Ohm speakers with ease (not many do that), it has a warm sound, easy to use.

Hard to set up right with delay. You must read the manual ten times to understand how. It also could have more s-video inputs, especially component inputs.

I have Dali speakers (6006, 1001, C1000) and I had an Denon AVR-1803 for a year when I decided to sell it and buy a NAD. My father bought my Denon AVR-1803, and I found a second hand NAD T742 at 2800 NOK. (Ca. 374 US Dollars). I wanted the NAD because it suits the Dali speakers better. Don´t be fooled by the rated 5X50W. NAD watt is not Pioneer or Sony watt rated ex. 5X140W at 1 KHz at 8 Ohm. Remember that NAD measure with alle channels simultaneous in 20 - 20 000 Hz at 8 Ohm. Also bear in mind that the power supply NAD has, is capable of much more than other recievers. F.ex: My Denon AVR-1803 was rated at 6X80W at 8 Ohm, and my NAD T742 beats that! I can hear the difference! A much warmer sound, not that bright (Denon and Dali does NOT match that good. They are both dark in sound). The NAD has plenty of power supplies even at high volumes! It also has sound clipping that can save your speakers when playing loud in a party. The NAD T742 is also good in music and stereo. In surround I can hear a big difference in the rear channels. The sound is more "around you" than with Denon. This reciever has no DSP modes other than NAD´s EARS and enchanced stereo(And of course DPLII modes, but who need DSP modes?) The only negativ thing I have found, is that the reciever is tricky to set up with delays. I was uses to Denon´s excellent meters and centimeters, but here I have to use milliseconds. Hint: Measure the distance from your sweet spot to one front speaker. Then measure the distance from one rear channel to your sweet spot. Then subtract. Ex. 3 meter to front right, 1.5 meter to surround right. Difference is 1.5 meter. 1 ms is 30 cm. So I have 5 ms in rear channels. (150 cm. Also use 1 ms if you center is in line of your front speakers because of the angle. Also, you can´t set subwoofer´s Hz. I actually don´t know why, but I have choosen 80 Hz on my sub for the 0.1 channel. Be sure to read the manual carefully for delay settings, this can do much with the surround sound when set up right. I don´t know why you can´t set delays for DTS!? I have to recommend this reciever for it´s good warm sound and power. If you have demanding speakers, you can always use the 5.1 preout. My Denon AVR 1803 hadn´t this, and pre out is always good in the future. Think of NAD power recivers with 2X150W on the front speakers! No more power needs! :)

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-1803

It keeps you busy when you have to much spare time. Sound is nice, a shame you can only listen a few weeks.

very serieus quality problem.

This is really terrible. I bought a NAD reciever (T742) and DVD player (T532) to replace my aging onkyo (15 years of service without a single problem). The DVD player broke down within one week of purchase. NAD told me they would fix it. That was almost two month ago, but they still have the damn thing. The good news is (as they said it); We have capacity problems; so you're not the only one waiting that long. Real reassuring thought. Certainly as my reciever has broken down ALSO (today,after two month of purchase). I don't know what to do. I can't send it to NAD, because they won't take care of it. (or they will, but that will taker far to long). Look at the reviews of the NAD T741. Keep in mind that the T742 and T743 are basicly the same recievers plus some extra features. And if you still can: AVOID NAD FOR THE REST OF YOU'RE LIFE!! I'm amazed that a company like NAD can exist with a build quality and costumer support like the have. I read a review that advised people only to buy a NAD when the dealer is around te corner. Take my advice: Don't think of buying it at all!

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Onkyo, old model

non-tiring sound as though it were filtered; good tight subwoofer yield; responsive remote w/ low clicking response; easy connectivity ( use Enhanced surr set up); price.

poor quality remote build, hard to adjust simple things like treble and bass; limited ambience settings for movies; potentially strong power albeit bright sound where it should be warmer,especially at the center channel.

I purchased this in hope to find out if a moderately priced multichannel receiver can deliver sound I've always wanted for both audio and movies all together; and this T742 surprised me with 2 things: (1)the sound is effortless and non-tiring,almost elegant; (2) provides strong and clean bass to my subwoofer. In contrast the Pioneer VSX-D814 which I run along for comparison,a nicely built unit, provides more punch especially for movie roaring sound while exhibiting some weaker or indefined low bass; and offers less musicality to your ears and more ambience settings, a headache for someone not eager to read instructions. The T742 is more sound oriented with a questionable remote although the time to get things right is not as costly as w the Pioneer. Power is more than sufficient, a tad bright if compared to higher end amplifiers... but so what, this unit is less than $500 for what could easily have cost $1200 otherwise; and it provides 5 channel w/ graceful sound requiring a relatively easy connection yet still yields very good subwoofer response. the remote response is not noisy and holds up to the name tag it represents.

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high end product integrated amp, like Arcam, Rotel, Proton

Musicality Warmth Sound

not as many features as other receivers in the same price category but the sound is what counts!

I initially purchased a Denon AVR-1804 about 1 month ago because I wanted to get into HT and multi-channel music listening. The 1804 is a very good product but for music it was lacking in refinement,musicality and warmth. I did much research on trying to find a "musical" HT receiver for under $400 (not an easy task). Visited various audiofile and audio websites/message boards and eventually decided that the NAD T742 sounded as though it would come close to what I was looking for. I received the NAD a few days ago and could'nt be happier. The sound is clean,smooth, warm and you can listen for hours without fatigue. It is only rated at 50W/channel but it is easily as powerful as the Denon 1804 which is rated at 90w/channel.Iwould say that is you need a receiver for movies only go with the 1804(little better with the explosions,etc) but if you want a reciver with musicality and warmth the T742 is an excellent choice for the price.

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Sony DVP500NS SACD.DVD Denon AVR-1804

good stereo sound

between me and the last owning its been not working more than working

I actually bought this receiver from someone I know used. He was having problems with the amps not working write or something. I took to a local guy to get it fixed. When I brought it back it sounds good in stereo, but the center channel in surround modes doesn't work so I'm taking back to him again and update this post when it is fixed

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Sony

Sound quality, sound quality, sound quality! Plenty of power for most users.

Lame romote Not very user friendly. (Made in China? [Does it count? Haha!])

I got this receiver last May and am very happy with it. Not like the other mass market receiver, NAD did a really good job in making a very musical receiver. For the stereo mode, it is almost as good as the other NAD integrated amp (at the same price range, of course). And it match with my Polk LSi9 speakers very well, even these speakers are rated at 4 ohm. There is no problem for T742 to drive these speakers. Better still, I got LSiC for the center channel, T742 stil handle all these speakers very well. The specification may just say that T742 rated only 5x50W, but it is a really conservative rating as it is powerful enough to blow away most of the other receiver that might be rated at 100/110W (ex. SONY). T742 can really blow your roof off without a sweat! It is clear that if you care enough about the musucal performance of your receiver, NAD is a very good choice. I don't think any receiver under $500 (even $6-700) can beat this one in terms of music. For music lover like myself, I spend probably 70% on music and the rest will be on movies. This is the best buy for me. Alright, the down side of T742 is mainly falls into the movie part. There is no doubt that T742 can give you very sound quality no matter in music or movies, but for all the multi-channel format, there is still a lot NAD can do to make it more user friendly and versatile. Though besides that, it works very good in movies generally. The user-not-so-friendly remote is another weak point of this receiver. There is, of course, no fancy thing on it and you basically can only control the receiver alone (just in case you are NAD DVD player, you can still use this to control that). And the layout of the buttons should be more user friendly. Some of the control settings are not easy to adjust. Like the treble and bass level, you need to use a strange combination of buttons and volumn dial to change it. Come on, it is a receiver, not like I have to take a test before I can change these settings confortably! Okay, I will still give T742 5 stars for both value and overall rating. Reasons: 1, it is a darn good receiver for the money; (it's definitely good for music and it works nice for movies, too) 2, if sound quality is one of your main concern, there is nothing out there can beat T742 in this price range; (We all know that money can buy you quality, so for this amount of money, there's always a trade-off. For me, it is the sound quality that really matters to my ears.) 3. The control is not very user friendly, but it is not really that bad. For really user friendly machine, you may consider more like SONY, nevertheless, if it can not offer you really quality sound, it is still a piece of crap!

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Sony, Denon, Integra, etc.