nad t763 vs. rotel rsx-1056

[ccotenj]

speakers are:
b&w s603s3 mains
b&w dm600s3 surrounds
b&w lcr600 center
b&w asw600 sub

beating my head against the wall here a bit... have listened to both of these with "my" speakers in 2 channel mode... unfortunately, in 2 different shops, with different listening environments (neither one of which even comes close to my good old plaster and hard wood floor environment :roll: )...

i'm having a bit of a difficult time deciding which one i like better... i'm not real good at putting "words" on "sound"... they do sound slightly (and i mean slightly) different to me, but i don't know whether or not to chalk that up to listening environment or something i'm really hearing... listened to both with music that i supplied, played through each ones "matching" cd player (which will also end up coming home with me as well)... from what i've read on the various forums (here and others), some would call the nad "warmer" and some would call the rotel "crisper"...

ideas? comments? am i missing something here? i'm almost reaching the point where i'm going to decide for the nad over the rotel based on the fact that i like the way it looks better. fwiw, as of yesterday, i had decided upon the rotel. but then i spent 2 hours with the nad today.

if this has been rehashed in another thread, please don't hesitate to point me over to it and zap me for my poor searching skills....

[Kens1]

IMO if it came down to looks the Rotel would be the clear winner, but to each their own. The dealer I use also carries both Rotel and NAD. I listened to both, actually I went specifically to hear the NAD 763 and did not know at the time they also carried Rotel. I had read great reviews about the musicality of NAD and wanted to demo it for myself.
I found the NAD 763 compared to the 1056 to, for lack of a better word, boring. I cannot say it sounded bad and if I had not decided to hear the Rotel as well might have purchased it. The NAD is still better sounding, music wise, than the mass market receivers but I found the 1056 more detailed and lively than the NAD. I found the midrange had more detail and the bass had more punch through the 1056. Both receivers were hooked up to B&W 604 speakers. I found the NAD almost "clinical" in comparison to the 1056. The NAD did everything good but not great.
Just my two cents.

[Black7]

I would suggest the Rotel - I'm currently using the RSX-972 which is an older model of the 1056. I've owned NAD products and they are excellent but IMO, they are a minor step down from the Rotel AVR's - musically, they are about on par but the Rotel is a more dynamic HT set up.
Then again, if you are looking for a warm sound, have a listen to the Arcam AVR's (100 - 300) - they blow both of these away in two channel (IMO). Almost like you are listening to tube gear (I said almost)