What AVR with Martin Logan ElectroMotion ESLs?

ravirmenon

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Nov 10, 2015
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Mumbai
Hi,

I had bought my Martin Logan Electrostatic speakers (ESL floorstanding + EMC2 centre channel, Dynamo 500 subwoofer) in the US. Was on a tight budget after the speakers (which completely floored me with their sound staging) and got a Denon AVR 1912. Moved to India in 2012 and shipped these across and now the amp has died in a lightning led power spike. Wondering if I should look at an upgrade in terms of the Amp as ProFx was guiding me towards a Denon AVRX1200 for ~INR48K.

My subwoofer had been giving me issues even before the move and I had taken it to Lakozy Mumbai (good guys btw that I got to know thx to this forum). While picking that up, they told me the amp couldn't be repaired and suggested I audition the NAD 758. It was fantastic but crazy expensive at about INR120K (if I remember right). I was thinking of INR40K as my budget and to stretch it to INR60K at most (because I keep comparing to US prices and am stunned at the difference in prices - yeah, I know, long discussions on that topic here on multiple threads).

So I am hoping someone who has the NAD 758 or the 748 can suggest whether the NAD is really worth the wait (because to get that money I will have to go through months of saving which means no music during that time other than through my Bose bluetooth speaker). Any other suggestions on what brands to use? Been hearing mixed reviews of Marantz and frankly service seems to be an issue with that brand in India from what I read on this forum. I went to the Marantz authorized dealer in Bandra and came away unimpressed as they were trying to gyp me into buying the Marantz 1505 for INR92K and then dropped the price to INR55K after I started walking away. WTF! This from an authorized dealer! Lakozy was a much better and far more professional experience and I am leaning to the NAD currently partly due to that as well.

Even if it is the NAD, the question is does it make sense to get the 758 (or even up the budget to get the 777) or is the 747 good enough?

Music will dominate what I use the AVR though cinema is also important (think 70:30). Listen to mostly house, rock, jazz and western classical in that order. A stereo setup will not work for me at all though I toyed with the idea of a 2nd hand stereo amp as a stop-gap while I wait for enough money to get a good AVR. Would appreciate suggestions. Thanks!
 
Thanks to a fellow member who was about to put up his stuff for sale, I managed to try out a NAD C320 with my Martin Logans. Didn't even hook up the sub and was still blown away. This was a big improvement over my earlier Denon 1912 - yeah, I know shouldn't mention Denon and NAD in the same breath - chalk and cheese! But still, the musicality of the NAD was surprising as was the power that it had despite the modest rating. Thanks to Cherian for letting me borrow the amp :clapping:
 
Hi,

There are many other dealers in Mumbai who sell a variety of avrs....sound out, fair deal who offer good rates with warranty....also if you are open to preowned stuff, I am sure you will find something interesting on hi fi ads or for sale by owner...all the best
 
I have made an offer but the owner is hoping to find someone who will buy it along with his bookshelf speakers and custom build stands. So let's see...
 
If you want some honest prices you can try hifimart
AV Receivers
@sash: I have checked out HiFi Mart. But think I will probably end up buying a used one for now and then get a NAD 758 another 6m-1yr later. Would rather do that than compromising on quality. Can use a spare amp for the setup that my parents have. So will use what I buy now towards that.
 
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