Power Amp Question

True. But then you will probably need longer cables to connect them to your pre-amp so I guess there is some give and take. As they say there is no free lunch.

Focusing on speaker wire length is just plain anal (and irrelevant) when in comes to answering the OP's question.  Feel free to experiment with (probably class D) more powerful amps, but you may find that they don't give you significantly better (only different) sound than your NAD.

@fatdaddy2 @randym860 @pennpencil @pennpencil 

Thanks for your input. I feel much more informed as I go forward. Looking forward to being an active part of the forum.

G

I once owned the NAD C256BEE. Regarding needing a more powerful amp I have two questions. What is your room size and at what position is the volume knob when listening at loudest levels. In my experience when volume knob for this amp is at the 12:00 o'clock position the gain from the preamp stage is driving the amp as hard as I feel comfortable (for amps sake).  

I do not post much, but - the NAD should be powerful enough to give you hearing damage in under 10 minutes with that setup. Before you go and spend a bunch of money, in my opinion it would be a good idea to verify all your components are working according to specification.

I took a look at your picture of your listening room - it is not very large, and the NAD with those speakers at 92db 1w/1m, according to the specs should be able to drive  them to 110db at 64 watts at 1m, and depending on where you are sitting (you will lose 6db at double the distance); so - 104db at 2m. 104-110 db is quite loud - as in, rock concert - hearing damage loud (supposedly hearing loss will start in about 7 minutes at those levels). You need 128 watts to get to 107-113+ db (Double the Power Rule-When you double the power, there will be a 3db gain in SPL)  and you would need a 256 watt amp to get to 110-116db.

The NAD has 220watts of dynamic power at 4 ohms, so I am surprised it is not powerful enough, especially in that small room.

This makes me wonder if your input to the NAD is high enough to allow you to get to full output (the NAD specs says its sensitivity is 500mv). Is the NAD loud enough when using the CD player? If it is, and your analog setup is not loud enough, then something is not right with your analog setup. The AT-OC9XL is a 0.4mv output, so into the Aria at 63db gain at the MC inputs, should get you to 400-500mv into the NAD, which should be enough to get the NAD to full output.

I suggest you download the Decibel X app for your phone (or a similar decibel meter for your phone) and find out how loud your system is now when using the CD player in your room. If it is not at 104db or better when the NAD is maxed out, something is not right.