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I have recently decided to start a move into a quality home audio/HT set-up. I am trying to take this step by step and know that I can't achieve perfection instantly (at least not on my budget). To give a quick idea, I am primarily interested in music, BUT I do enjoy HT to a certain extent so I will eventually add further components to fill out that area.What I have learned: Speakers are the one area that is almost always worth spending extra $ in. After auditioning several speakers and reading reviews I am seriously interested in acquiring the PSB Goldi's. They would run me around $1600 for the pair.
I am also buying the Rotel RCC 955 CD player (a compromise with my S/O).Cost $520
Total budget of about $3,200
Realisticly I will most likely get a receiver in the $800-1100 range.Eventually adding a higher quality amp and using it as a pre/pro.
I am considering the Marantz SR8000, Nakamichi IA-1z, Nakamichi AV-10 and Pioneer Elite VSX27TX. I felt the Denon 3300 was to sterile so it's out for my tastes.Now the problem, I have been told that the PSB Goldi's drop down to around 2.9 ohms and have complicated crossovers that require a bit of power to get the best performance out of. Since none of these receivers are dynamos (at least that's what I have been told)will I be able to get decent performance from the PSB's with them, or will I end up hating the speakers I fell in love with? Should I pass on the speakers?
Thank you in advance.
hi,
it's like this, throw a couple grand at the speakers+ speaker cable. Then throw a couple grand at the amp ( check out the Outlaw amp, it's about a grand ). Then throw a couple grand at a processor, and a couple more for
CD,DVD,Tivo Satelite dish, S-VHS VCR ( super vhs vcr is a real plus in a home theater ). Ouch, i have Golds, btw, and ouch is the word.
there are fine speakers that do not need super amps, and receivers that sound wonderful; check around. If you can walk away from the Golds, do so. If you can't, welcome to the asylum.
You might want to buy a Pioneer 24 instead and with the money saved buy a ATI 1502 to bi-amp your mains (or some other good 2-channel amp).
I bought PSB Goldis and a C6 about three months ago. First off, they are great HT/music speaker (I have a separate stereo system, but the Goldis acutally get a fair amount of music played on them). Also you do not need a sub with them, as there is plenty of bass output at 25hz. Plenty of bass to shake my 25x15x9 room. However, you are correct that the Goldis like power.The good news is that I have a cheap, good solution for you. It's called the Harman/Kardon PA5800 amp. It lists for $1000 and has received accolades from Home Theater Magazine and Stereo Review, but J&R is closing them out at $299 each! They'll be gone very soon, however. The H/K is rated at 80x5@ohms, but it was measured at 90x5@8ohms, all channels driven simultaneously. Buy two of the H/Ks and a pre/pro like the Sherwood Newcastle or the new Parasound, and you're under $1500 for a great amp/pre/pro combo. This will sound better than any receiver on the market (except the $7000 McIntosh). Use one H/K to bi-amp one Goldi and the center, and use the other H/K to biamp the other Goldi and the rears. With some channels remaining idle, the H/K will produce an honest 100wpc. The Goldis will get 200wpc. Now while the H/K won't be confused with a Levinson, it is a very good amp and very stable with 4 ohm loads (which the Goldi presents). I've got this exact combo and am extremely satisfied. The Second H/K really helps the Goldis a lot. Bass got better, tighter, and more authoritative, and the mids and highs cleared up a bit.
This is a long term solution in my eyes. BTW: I'd forget the Rotel player. Use your DVD player as a transport and the DACs in the pre/pro. This will get you sound as good, if not better, than the Rotel. Good luck!
A similar solution that I remember seeing at another site (audioreview and for the same price is two AudioSource Amp-3s (Spidergear.com, but beware as there is no email communication) which could be bridged into 400w each (or left to bi-amp at 150w each) that claims to be stable at 2 ohms. I have the Amp-1a that I use for my front mains from a Denon 2400 pre-outs which is much more detailed and full after it's warmed up for about 30 minutes (it sounds horrible cold). I have heard that this amp is good enough to run Maggies (which are also known to be power hogs) which means it might be good enough to run these PSBs. My advice is to have some other place match Spidergear's price as I have done business with this company and would have done more if they answered even one of my Emails.
Thanks for the tip on the HK's it sounds like a very good alternative. I'll check into it and see what I can put together. Although I may have questions about bi-amping.
While you won't get the most from the speakers, get them anyway. You can always upgrade electronics later and it'll be less costly than replacing speakers as well. Be sure that whatever you buy is rated a 4 ohms.Probably the biggest mistake I've made in the past is compromising on speakers.
The gold i's will play nicely on just a few watts but they suck current like nobody's business........ which means that in real-world terms you need at least a 200 watt per channel solid state amp to drive them to THX level.You can play them with a receiver or low powered amp, but you run the risk of clipping and even at low listening levels the sound will be bleached and anemic.
As always however YMMV so take a listen and decide for yourself.
Scott
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