Robin L
Master Contributor
Unfortunately, it looks like the weakest link in your case are the speakers. However, assuming you like what these speakers are doing and intend to spend around $500, the NAD appears to be a bit underpowered. You can find a more powerful amp for less than $500."Not every new member is a troll from another forum, OP seems quite genuine in seeking assistance here."
@JSmith I am very genuine in my question. And I did get a few decent answers.
Still I get a bit disappointed in the discussion when I say that I currently have A, B and C. A will not change for a few reasons. I do have X budget for B and/or C. And the replies state "You should change A".
I'm an old dog in this game and am about to suggest a lateral move that will improve your sound. I've had speakers, large and small, good and not so good. Like I said before, if you like the sound of your speakers, a bigger amp will give you more of the same. However, because of the design of your speakers, utilizing a bigger amp might not give you all that much more volume because your speakers have small woofers with limited power handling. You could get more power/clarity with a powered subwoofer. Ideally, you'd bandpass the signal going to the speakers, cutting them off around 100hz and having everything below that go to the sub. I suspect the NAD amp you've got does not have a provision for a subwoofer. I owned the original NAD 3020, nice but very limited in power. I've recently found a lot of A/V receivers, used, in record shops and thrift stores, for something like $50. While they may not be the be-all and end all of audio, they make it much easier to join a sub to speakers and have more power than your NAD amp. They also make it easier to have a surround system, though that is a whole 'nother can of worms.
This doesn't address any of your problems but it did address mine. What I did with $500 to improve sound: Topping E30 DAC, Topping L30 headphone amp and Drop 6XX headphones, hooked up to my computer, playing Apple lossless files and Amazon music, not to mention streamed movies and all that YouTube has to offer.
I have a nice little system of a/d/s 400 speakers, a Sonance powered sub and a Yamaha a/v receiver. As I got all of it from thrift stores and yard sales it only set me back about $120. The a/d/s speakers have larger woofers than your speakers but in smaller boxes. They are designed to be mated with a sub anyway, limited to about 100hz before the bottom falls out. I don't think you'll find this sort of system for $500 unless you're really lucky. Of my two systems, the headphone based system is much more musically informative and I use it much more often. If I were to do something about my loudspeaker based system I'd get some floorstanding speakers, but I'd have to get them used if I were to really improve the overall sound because $500 of floorstanding speakers wouldn't be all that big of an upgrade from what you've/I've got. Anyway, the room I've got the audio gear in right now is too small for that sort of thing. On the other hand, I did manage to find the 5 of a 5.1 system at a thrift store for all of $80, Infinity Primus speakers with big and small tower speakers and a center channel. For a while I was on the hunt for used audio gear, that required access to thrift stores and a lot of time on my hands. You might not be as lucky. But if you're a smart shopper, you can find amazing deals with used gear.
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