Totem and Bel Canto?

Have no fear, the naim 5i will play those totems very loud,
What is also great with them is the Naim unitiqute, which has a built in DAC, but it's out of your price range...

Naim and Totem pair up quite well. I've heard many combos of them and never heard anything less than stellar.

Bryston also pairs up equally well IMO. A bit different, but equally well. Simaudio is another great match.

Bryston B60s go for under $1k here, depending on age and features (remote, DAC, phono). I like Bryston a bit better than Naim, as it's more 3D and a tad more relaxed sound.

Another vote for the Naim + Totem combination. I have owned two Naim integrateds, the 5i and the XS. Loved them both. They both paired quite nicely with a pair of Totem Arro floorstanders.

Some folks really like the Naim sound. If you've never heard it, make sure you find a dealer and listen with your own ears.

Do you like the NAD sound? Why are you upgrading? Do you feel there is something missing in your system?

Headshrinker2 I like the NAD sound its just that I feel that there might be more to the rainmakers. A friend of mine has the hawks powered by arcam avr400 and a vdac. Just heard it yesterday and the soundstage and attack? are amazing. Perhaps its less the amplifier than the speakers. I am planning on bringing them to his place so that I can determine if its the speakers or some other part of his system that I like. I was hoping that with better amplification and maybe the storm sub I could get close to his set-up without selling the rainmakers.

BTW aren't the arros much easier to drive than the rainmakers?

Jkontuly,
Your idea of trying your Rainmakers with your friend's system sounds great. That will at least answer part of the question.

A quick check to the Totem website will answer your question about recommended amplification for the Arro and Rainmaker. I don't know about Rainmakers, but the Arros are indeed easy to drive.

Let us know what you discover...