Before penning down my findings, here are the setups:
Configuration-1
Technics SL3200 DD TT (with Shure M97XE)
Preamp: Nad 106
Poweramp: Nad 216thx
Speakers: BPL 700TM Symphony Series (with finolex cabling)
Tone Control Settings - Flat
Volume Control - 9 o' clock
Poweramp soft clipping - off
Configuration-2
Technics SL3200 DD TT (with Shure M97XE)
Integrated amp: Grundig V5000
Speakers: BPL 700TM Symphony Series (with finolex cabling)
Tone Control Settings - Flat (on all 4 controls, 40Hz, 300 Hz, 2500 Hz, 16000 Hz)
Volume Control - 9 o' clock
Volume db Control - null position + or - 0
Loudness - off
TT Interconnects - Stock Technics
Power-Pre Interconnects for Nads - Python
LPs played (1/2 American pressings, 3/4 British pressings)
1) Nat King Cole - Unforgettable
2) Nat King Cole - Ramblin Rose
3) Englebert Humperdinck (self titled)
4) James Last - Instrumentals Forever, In Concert, Trumpet a Gogo
Listened to all these LPs at a stretch using the first configuration and second configuration alternatively. Did the listening over a period of 2 days using the same speaker positioning in my new home's listening space. Each configuration was listened to, on separate days.
First to go was the NAD setup on day-1:
At the outset, NAD's neutral sound presentation and fluid tonal balance was extremely evident, probably as I am very used to this sound signature. There was a marked difference from my usual listening with the Shure M44-7, the M97xe sounded comparatively laid back, but very soothing and at the same time, attractive. Nat King Cole's baritone voice sounded extremely rich in quality but at the same time, not bassy. James Last's orchestra sounded very warm, the wind instruments were very smooth and pleasant to listen to. The bass on the Nad was tight and solid. Imaging as usual was superb, infact Nat and his team sounded as though they were on my balcony, playing for us. The violins on the James Last album, Instrumentals Forever seemed to be flowing like a stream, they sounded quite exiting with the imagery. Overall, the NADs held their ground as expected, these are robust pieces of equipment with world class reputations, the 106 being the exact derivative of NAD's legendary 1000 preamp. Wify joined for the listening session and was of the opinion that the NAD played wonderfully well. It was time to turn off and pick up on day-2.
On day-2, it was the turn of the Grundig V5000, and made a start with good old Nat's Unforgettable. The striking first impression was that Nat's voice sounded bigger (not louder) in dimension when compared to the NAD's performance from the previous day. Another noticeable difference was the upfront imagery. The NADs tended to produce a deep image wherein we felt that the musicians were on the balcony, playing for us (of course, the balcony door was left open). With the same open door arrangement, the Grundig gave us a feeling that Nat and his team were present in the room. More upfront but with slightly better imagery. The Grundig presented more aggressive bass treatment, could here the double bass thumping louder on the Nat albums. Englebert's voice also sounded much lager (in terms of dimension) when compared to the Nads. On the highs front, the Grundig was way more aggressive when compared to the Nad's neutrally flowing warm sound. The mids presentation of the Nads was a tad better than the Grundig's but overall, the imagery of the Grundig was much better with the overall sound dimensions being more enhanced when compared to the Nads. When we played the Instrumentals forever LP, we heard some tingling sounds in the orchestration which were missed during the Nad's listening session. The Nad's phonostage offered a more pleasant and controlled sound while the Grundig's phonostage was brutally honest and let one know if there was dust on the record surface. Wify wanted to hear how Tina Turner sounded on the Grundig so we wired in my el-cheapo Sony Dvd player and played Tina Turner's private dancer. Sounded very sparky and dazzling. Wify flipped the loudness switch on and our listening space was transformed into the floor of a disco club. This kind of sound cannot be achieved with the Nads clearly agreeing with the fact that is amp is from the early 1980s Eurodisco era. The best part of it is that the Grundig can be attributed to the best of both worlds. One can go conventional with the tone controls in flat position and the loudness turned off and at the same time, one can go coloured with the loudness control turned on and with tinkered tone controls.
Time for the verdict, the Grundig was a surprise package. In earlier tests it ran past the NAD 320 and fought hard against the 3020. In my opinion it hammered the Marantz PM80. However I personally would hand this final round to the Nads. Yes, I may be biased because I love my Nads but the Nad's all round capability is what impressed me the most. The sheer pleasure derived when listening to the Nads is unexplainable, never felt fatigued or bored listening to them. On the other hand, the Grundig V5000 has no world class reputation to go by, but is a surprise package and a silent killer. It can easily give some big names a run for their money. The build quality of the Grundig is outstanding and its a pity that Grundig never got the kind of international prominence which they were able to achieve in Europe back in the day. Where in the world can one find an audiophile grade amp which has 2 moving magnet phono inputs, a moving coil phono input and stereo microphone inputs, apart from the usual tape, tuner and aux inputs. This one is simply and amazing package and very tempting, but as I said, at the end of the day, when the sun sets, I'd like to go to bed, listening to my Nads sing.
On a final note, wify and I have decided not to go ahead with the plans for a second rig for now. As a result of this, I may have to let the Grundig go so watch the classifieds section for more in the coming days