Bridged NADs vs. Rotel Ra - 1062

@grislybutter 

Thank you very much for the help! 

And thank you for the website! Really useful!

Have a good day!

Both Rotel and NAD are good brands. They had better some models over the years, and some not so great ones, it's a volatile business to be in.

If you are lucky, you will find good speakers for 500 EURO.

Check out https://speakerchoices.com/index.html  Speakers tend to drop a fair amount in price after a few years, when you are ready, you could start a post with your questions about speakers in that topic

@grislybutter Thank you very much! You explained everything very clearly! I learned a lot! 

I wonder which one would be better Rotel Ra-1062 or Nad c356bee?

Im more into Nad somehow. Maybe its more suited to rock music?

After buying amp I will have time and will look for speakers 🙂 I think I will look for used, second hand too, because new ones would be pricey. I think my budget for speakers would be 500euro. If thats enough to buy something decent 🙂

source + preamplifier + amplifier + speakers = > sound

or

source + integrated amplifier + speakers = > sound

an integrated can play the role of a preamp to an amp (since it has to have the preamp functions) and can play the role of an amp to a preamp (since it has the amp functions)

Generally, you are better off with an integrated if you are not into tweaking and spending 1000s. Your best bang for the buck will be speakers with what you have now.

@grislybutter 

Thank you for understanding!

I saw threads "bridged amps" , "bridging amps" and I thought that connecting two amps is bridging! But now I learned (thanks to you all) that its not 🙂 that its not!

This thing about those Nads c370 and 3020a being not real preamps but integrated I knew 🙂 At least I know something 😁 

But I thought that connecting two good Nads into stereo system would produce good quality sound, and they are in my price range ,so that's why I taken them in account.

Honestly, that who sells those Nads doesn't push me at all. I just asked about amps in local facebook group and he said he have those (2400 and 3020a) if Im interested and thats all. The thing is, that then I learned that you can combine two amps into one stereo system. I checked local ads, and found a set of c270 and c370 for sale in my price range and also taken them into account.

Then I will think about nad c356bee vs. rotel ra 1062. Prices are very similar, Nad being little bit cheaper. But I guess price doesn't determine quality.

chatgpt is pushing me for Nad c356bee 😁

no worries @mistermonitors we are not born with obscure knowledge about audio equipment

You can have a preamp and amp, but at your price range, an integrated is better (Rotel) 

Just as a clarification

NAD 2400 Power Amp

NAD 3020 Integrated

NAD C270 Power Amp

NAD C370 Integrated

 Rotel Ra- 1062 - Integrated

Nothing on this list is a preamp. You don't need a power amp for an integrated. An integrated is a whole package, a power amp is redundant 

It sounds like whoever wants to sell you these NADs is pushing hard and totally confused you.. 

@grislybutter @mm1tt77 @musicfan2349 @assetmgrsc @mesch @loomisjohnson @cleeds 

Thank you everyone. I want to say I am very sorry, I didn't use the correct terminology. After reading this thread I did some research.

I said "bridge". That was the wrong word to use. Im very sorry.

​​​What I meant was ""stereo system with a preamp and power amp combination"

I thought that what is bridging... I am very sorry about that.

"When you connect the NAD 3020a as a preamplifier to the NAD 2400, you are using the NAD 3020a's preamplifier function to control the sound and send the signal to the NAD 2400. The NAD 2400 will act as a power amplifier, amplifying the signal received from the NAD 3020a and delivering power to two speakers."

So,  I want to compare, not two bridged nads 2400 and 3020a, or c270  and c370, but "stereo system with a preamp and power amp combination" vs. Rotel Ra- 1062.

I guess this changes the certain things on this topic?

Im very sorry again! You wrote a a lot about bridging and its details pros/cons. Im very sorry for your time 🥺 But it helped me a a lot! If not you, I wouldn't have learned that!

@mistermonitors you can have mono blocks that are just mono or stereo units with a mono switch. If it has four binding posts for speakers, it's a 2 channel stereo unit. I would stick to simple. 2 speakers 2 channel amp. 

I would say, look up reviews of these models and also look at features you definitely don't need and move items up your list that ONLY has features that you do need. Simple in high end audio is always better. 

@mm1tt77 @grislybutter

Thank you very much! Im reading and trying to learn! 🙂

I got confused with that bridging thing. So those bridged Nads, I could only use one speaker with them? They guy who sells bridged Nads told me that I can use two sets of speakers (4 in total) with bridged 3020a and 2400.

There are some amps in 100 euro price range , Nad 3020a , Sansui Au 217, nad 3120, Nad c326bee

But I was thinking to spend little bit more, like 350euro, maybe the music quality will be better ? for 300 350 price range there is Musical Fidelity A100, Rotel Ra 1062, Nad c356bee, c372.

It depends on your timeline. You can get a quality Denon, Yamaha, Marantz or Onkyo receiver from the 90s for under 50 EURO/USD and have quality sound. I would wait until around 600 to look for the next step up. I would add Cambridge Audio to the list, as well Musical Fidelity, good, reputable brands. I would avoid the bridge mono stuff until a way higher budget, integrated is a good and rewarding way to start

@mistermonitors if you can get the NAD in the 100-150 range, no brainer.  You won’t find anything remotely close to the performance at anywhere near the price.  Assuming the unit is in good working order.  Bridging to Mono is different than having amps designed to be mono blocks.  Adding into the equation these units are integrated amps, not just amps and their age is why most are recommending against going that route.  
 

Good Luck. 

Thank you very much for answering! Really helpful!

@mm1tt77 

Yes, I can snag those for 100€-150€. That was my first idea to buy an amp in this price range, but later I decided to invest little bit more to buy something better.

I thought that bridged amps are good with no "downsides". That the bridged power amp and amp would make sound even better, but now I see thats not always the case.

@mesch 

I never thought that bridging amps is mono in some way. Didnt know that. Now I will know!

@musicfan2349 

Got it! I thought that bridging improves music quality and quality sound volume. Thats why I take in bridged NADs in consideration.

@assetmgrsc 

Could you clarify what units do you have in mind that you checked on ebay for 350 dollars ? :)

All options (bridged Nads, Rotel) I listed are around 300 - 350euro. They are for sale at my local classified ads site.

I can buy Nad 2400 and Nad 3020a for 300euro. I checked ebay, other sites too, NAD 2400 alone costs 300€, 500€. Thats why I thought that Nad 2400 and 3020a is a good sounding option.

And, Im not 100% want or determined to buy nads or Rotel. Im always open to suggestions. Im a noob :) in this field, so I found these options after some research. But maybe you can offer completely different amp, that would be better.

Because you all have experience in this field, and have tried amps so your opinion would be really valuable!

Thank you again everyone for answers! Really grateful!

@assetmgrsc you’re right, when I researched the units this morning, some used options came up but I didn’t look closely at them.  Some were old adds and others were for units that weren’t fully functional.  I was more focused on learning about the different options the OP referenced as they aren’t familiar units to me. 
 

Looks like refurbished units go for almost what they cost new on the NAD.  If they are selling for those types of prices I’d gather they were good units back in the day and still good units.  Rotel Units seem to be on the $400-800 range, what’s curious on the Rotel is some of the adds from 2-3 years ago had Units selling in the $ 150-300 range.  The pricing has taken quite a jump. 
 

@mm1tt77  Agree with most of what you say, but the used prices that you mention are probably unrealistic. A quick check on EBay had one for around $350.  Other places might be cheaper?

Pretty much what @mesch said. While bridging amps isn't necesarily bad in and of itself usually, it can be if the speaker load is unstable or hard to drive.

I had a pair of Hafler DH-220s that I ran in bridged mode to drive a pair of ESL speakers. Sure, great power but something sounded "off". When I decided to use just one channel of each amplifier for each channel the difference was quite audible! There was much more detail and clarity and dare I say even warmer sound.

Yes having extra power is nice (440 wpc bridged vs 120wpc non-bridged) but depending on the speaker it can be problematic. Of course buying speakers that are efficient and easy to drive helps a lot. 

Happy listening.

I have owned a couple of NAD C356BEEs, still have one. I believe them to be a good budget integrated amplifier. The C356 was preceeded by the C355 so the 356 would have less years on it.

As others have indicated I would stay away from bridging amplifiers. Use stereo mode. Just stay away from hard to drive speakers. 

@mistermonitors the NAD and Rotel units are both value integrated units from around 15-20 years ago.  Nothing wrong with that, both brands have a solid reputation.  Rotel for value, their claim to fame is they are solidly built, punch above their weight class by always striving to deliver more value per dollar.  NAD is a bigger brand that offers products in various price brackets with some value products all the at up to some higher end gear.  I wouldn’t buy one of these older units and bridge them into mono’s, you can but you’ll likely lose more than you’ll gain.  The NAD C372 should be a nice option for you, it will likely drive most speakers, NAD has been in the space for a long time producing great products, when this originally launched was a unit that did everything well.  If you go the NAD or Rotel route, don’t spend too much on them, they retailed between $600-800 when new back 20 years ago.  If you can snag one for a $100-200 that’s in good shape, tremendous value if you are going to use it, not much value on the used market.  
 

If you wanted to go with a modern integrated there are some good options in the $1,000-2,000 range but that’s a big jump from what you are looking at. If you went with a more modern integrated you might not really gain much in performance but you would potentially gain a unit set up for a more modern set up incorporating streaming / digital.  

@cleeds 

Thank you for your insights!  I dont need that much power or loud sound, I care more about quality of music, I will take it in account!

@loomisjohnson 

I have no knowledge about amps, my journey just begins. So I asked in local facebook hi fi group about amps. And got offered bridged Nads, until then I didnt even knew about bridged amps. So I went to check local classified ads and found bridged NADs for sale that matches my budget. That is the only reason Im looking for bridged NADs. 

So  I asked here should I go for bridged Nads or something else like Rotel Ra 1062.

If not bridged Nads I found these in similar price range:

Nad c355bee 
Nad c356bee
Nad c372 

Though Nad c356bee is little bit over my budget. I could try negotiate the price If it would be the best option.

not sure why you're looking to bridge amps, but of the options you've listed above i'd go with the nad 270/370, which are gain-matched. personally, i'd just go with the 370 itself, which is extremely powerful (i think 120w/c?) and quite good sounding--i owned one back in the day.

Bridged amplifiers are a bit of a parlor trick. Yes, you get more "power," but distortion goes up and so does the ability to drive low impedance. It's never a first choice, imo.

Thank you for answering!

I will look  for  speakers later, now its some old 

simple 8ohms Technics speakers. But I will upgrade them

in time 🙂.

What speakers will the amp be powering?  That can be a significant factor.