Pioneer R-N803 or NAD C368 bluos-2i?

[SteveE]

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated. I am debating between the Pioneer R-N803 receiver and the NAD C368 bluos-21 amp. will use one of these to stream spotify music from android phone. Will also connect a cd player and will use just to listen to streamed music and cds. The unit will power a old pair of Klipsch KG4.2's (If I am not happy with the kg's i will likely upgrade to a forte). I currently use a yamaha home theater receiver with hsu research speakers and am happy with those. so do i pay the extra and try NAD, or do I stick with the less expensive and more familiar Yamaha?

Thank you

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

While I've not heard either, I'm quite sure you'll notice an improvement going to NAD vs. the Pioneer or a Yamaha. That being said, if you're primarily streaming Spotify, do you need that improvement, and will the improvement actually reveal artifacts in the Spotify content that you would rather not hear? Do you intend to upgrade to the Spotify HIFI service when it is launched?

Just adding a few more questions for you to ponder.

I can say that I've adored every NAD piece I've owned or heard, and I love my Bluesound Node2i. For what it's worth.

 

[SteveE]

Sorry should read Yamaha R-N803 or NAD C368 bluos-2i

 

[Todd Anderson]

Huge price difference between the two. In reading your initial post, if I were you I'd probably go with the Yamaha and pocket the rest of the cash. If you were specifically interested in streaming Hi-Res and wanting to install a wireless system around your home, then I'd say go NAD. But, Yamaha traditionally delivers a powerful amp section and should have more than enough to play Spotify and host your CD player.

My 2 cents, anyway. ;-)

 

[ddude003]

I have always had good luck with Yamaha Pro and Consumer gear... The Yamaha R-N803 looks to have all the bells and whistles to do network streaming and at reasonable resolutions... PCM-based files up to 24-bit/192kHz as well as DSD files up to 5.6 MHz seem pretty "hi rez" to me... And DLNA 1.5 certified (UPnP) for streaming music from compatible networked computers and NAS drives (read lots of choices here)...

A downside is that some folks have issues with the YPAO room calibration system...