should I bother with my power amp, what benefits are there?

[whitenoise]

I am currently using a NAD 302 with my TT which in turn is powering Bi wired Mission M70 speakers, I have no complaints about the sound that this set up gives me. My Dad (Hi Fi buff and collecter/hoarder of anything Hi Fi related) recently gave me a Rotel RB980 BX power amp and I am wondering if this piece of kit will enhance what I already have or just be something that will give me more power, I am not too bothered about just more power but would be interested if it could improve the dynamics of the sound.

All opinions gratefully received.
Thankyou.

[Hanuman]

I am currently using a NAD 302 with my TT which in turn is powering Bi wired Mission M70 speakers, I have no complaints about the sound that this set up gives me. My Dad (Hi Fi buff and collecter/hoarder of anything Hi Fi related) recently gave me a Rotel RB980 BX power amp and I am wondering if this piece of kit will enhance what I already have or just be something that will give me more power, I am not too bothered about just more power but would be interested if it could improve the dynamics of the sound.

All opinions gratefully received.
Thankyou.

What you've written reads a bit odd but I think I know what you're getting at. That said, I wouldn't need much "think music". 120W versus 25? What's not to like!? The '302 is not some boutique SET! Connect the Rotel NOW and wind up the wick!

[whitenoise]

Hi, thanks for your reply. Sorry I did not make myself clear in my description of the dilemma or at least perceived dilemma I have. I can appreciate what you are saying and it does indeed make sense. Could you tell me what the correlation is between more power and sweeter reproduction from my TT ?, in other words what can the rotel offer apart from a massive jump in power, as I stated in my original post im not bothered about just more power unless that power increase is equalled with an audible jump in sonic clarity on some level.

[josephazannieri]

Yo whitenoise:

If I were in your shoes, I would hook up the Rotel and try it. It will cost you nothing except for a little time and effort. You are getting the Rotel amp as a gift, and it should be easy to hook up. There is a significant difference in power here, and I think you will get greater clarity in peaks, particularly if you listen loud or have inefficient speakers. An underpowered amp will tend to sound a little thick and lumpy in loud passages. You won't hear the difference all the time, particularly wiht the "soft clipping" feature of the NAD, but I think you will hear it.

If it doesn't give you an improvement, you can always go back to the NAD.

And good luck from the old experimenter,

Joe Z.

[Hanuman]

Hi, thanks for your reply. Sorry I did not make myself clear in my description of the dilemma or at least perceived dilemma I have. I can appreciate what you are saying and it does indeed make sense. Could you tell me what the correlation is between more power and sweeter reproduction from my TT ?, in other words what can the rotel offer apart from a massive jump in power, as I stated in my original post im not bothered about just more power unless that power increase is equalled with an audible jump in sonic clarity on some level.

Well, the extra power is a big deal by itself but even apart from that the only way of finding out whether that Rotel drives the Missions better than the NAD is to listen to it. If you don't think it's worth it then disconnect and move on. I do notice that the Missions are not that sensitive, meaning that if you want things realistically loud you'll likely need more power than the NAD although from your initial post I gather this isn't an issue

I assume you have possession of both units. Wouldn't be a dilemma for me. I'd definitely want to hear what happens.

I notice as I preview this that Joe Z. has weighed in with typically sage advice. Listen to Joe.

[whitenoise]

Thanks for the benefit of your combined wisdom, I was always going to hook up the rotel and see/hear what the results were but as I'm sure you are all too well aware it can be a nightmare especially if the differences are subtle.I think I just wanted to back up any change with some scientific evidence as to why it should sound better, or not as the case maybe.
I will hook up the rotel today and play an LP that I know really well and let you all know the outcome.
Again thanks for your help.
Whitenoise.

[whitenoise]

Just a quick one, I've been using the NAD with the soft clipping off and the speaker imp set to 8 (high) as opposed to 4 (normal). Should I change this when using the rotel or will it have no bearing at all...the speaker imp setting shouldn't matter should it?

[Eoin]

Shouldn't make any difference. I think those settings are for the NADs internal power amp section which you won't be using. Follow the manual instructions, and connect the Pre out to the Rotel power amp inputs and you're finished.

Whiteout having heard the combo, the Rotel BX power amp is a classic and I think you'll notice a difference alright. See how you get on.

Manual is here:
http://nadelectronics.com/download.php? ... h%20Manual

[whitenoise]

Hi,
Well I collected the Rotel (which turned out to be the RB870 BX not the 980 model) and coupled it up to my Nad. I decided to play Lalo Schifrin's Bullitt soundtrack as I know it very well and have played it plenty of times just through the Nad.
The first thing I noticed was that the volume on my Nad was more responsive, only a small tweak of the volume dial made a big difference to the overall volume, where as before you I could turn the dial quite liberally up before any real gain in volume could be heard.
Second to this was that there was more detail in the sound or at least there seemed to be, certain instruments i.e the woodblock on the opening track, although there before now were more woody sounding and had their own space in the overall soundscape.. I was still kneeling down next to the amps just after placing the stylus on the LP just in case something went wrong at this point and nearer the right speaker, a position Ive been in many times before but it was different.
The third thing I noticed was that when I sat down to listen to the full stereo image, the music was faster sounding or more tighter sounding. Overall a very pleasing experience and one that I am looking forward to repeating again later tonight with Zappa's Hot Rats LP.

Thanks for everyone who contributed to my initial question regarding the Rotel.

[Hanuman]

Hi,
Well I collected the Rotel (which turned out to be the RB870 BX not the 980 model) and coupled it up to my Nad. I decided to play Lalo Schifrin's Bullitt soundtrack as I know it very well and have played it plenty of times just through the Nad.
The first thing I noticed was that the volume on my Nad was more responsive, only a small tweak of the volume dial made a big difference to the overall volume, where as before you I could turn the dial quite liberally up before any real gain in volume could be heard.
Second to this was that there was more detail in the sound or at least there seemed to be, certain instruments i.e the woodblock on the opening track, although there before now were more woody sounding and had their own space in the overall soundscape.. I was still kneeling down next to the amps just after placing the stylus on the LP just in case something went wrong at this point and nearer the right speaker, a position Ive been in many times before but it was different.
The third thing I noticed was that when I sat down to listen to the full stereo image, the music was faster sounding or more tighter sounding. Overall a very pleasing experience and one that I am looking forward to repeating again later tonight with Zappa's Hot Rats LP.

Thanks for everyone who contributed to my initial question regarding the Rotel.

Good move! It seems like these vintage Rotels are pretty well regarded.

[whitenoise]

.

Good move! It seems like these vintage Rotels are pretty well regarded.

Yeah Ive done a little research on them and its all very favourable, the bits and bobs under the cover were all high quality and the general build was of a good standard. Im more than happy with the results of linking it to my faithful old Nad 302,

[satanfriendly]

Pity you can't bi-amp the speakers you have, but yeh, in general (and as you've found out) more power does play a big part and can make a big difference. With a decent amp set up which you have.

Enjoy

[whitenoise]

Pity you can't bi-amp the speakers you have, but yeh, in general (and as you've found out) more power does play a big part and can make a big difference. With a decent amp set up which you have.

Enjoy

Thankyou. If the oppotunity comes to buy another one I will and bi-amp the speakers as you say but very pleased with what Im hearing at the moment, its nice to hear my fav LP's sounding even better than they did before.

[Smoke Screen]

I am currently using a NAD 302 with my TT which in turn is powering Bi wired Mission M70 speakers, I have no complaints about the sound that this set up gives me. My Dad (Hi Fi buff and collecter/hoarder of anything Hi Fi related) recently gave me a Rotel RB980 BX power amp and I am wondering if this piece of kit will enhance what I already have or just be something that will give me more power, I am not too bothered about just more power but would be interested if it could improve the dynamics of the sound.

All opinions gratefully received.
Thankyou.

Well,it certainly will give you more power for the most part. But the main profit
will lie ahead with a preamp that outperformes the NAD and a pair of decent
standalone speakers. So,see it more as a gift for the future,rather than
expecting big new things coming out of a couple mini-bookshelfs which have btw
a decent SPL. Of course check it out.