Need help with Amplifier

[Bantam]

Friends,
I have a friend who's selling me a set of PSB Image 5Ts and a PSB
Powered subwoofer.
My primary objective is listening music and not watching movies,
atleast not yet. Please advise me as to which Amplifier/Integrated
amplifier I need to buy. My budget is ~ $500/-
Also, how much of the audio quality will be sacrificed if I end up
buying a Receiver (as a last resort).

Thanks for your suggestions, in advance.

Hemendra

[Rob]

Sensitive speakers - a t-amp would do nicely. Have a look at the reviews. If
you will want to turn up the speakers to the maddest listening levels they
are capable of there is a good t-amp kit available with 100-200 watts per
channel.


"Bantam" > wrote in message
ps.com...
> Friends,
> I have a friend who's selling me a set of PSB Image 5Ts and a PSB
> Powered subwoofer.
> My primary objective is listening music and not watching movies,
> atleast not yet. Please advise me as to which Amplifier/Integrated
> amplifier I need to buy. My budget is ~ $500/-
> Also, how much of the audio quality will be sacrificed if I end up
> buying a Receiver (as a last resort).
>
> Thanks for your suggestions, in advance.
>
> Hemendra
>

[Bill Riel]

In article m>,
says...
> Friends,
> I have a friend who's selling me a set of PSB Image 5Ts and a PSB
> Powered subwoofer.
> My primary objective is listening music and not watching movies,
> atleast not yet. Please advise me as to which Amplifier/Integrated
> amplifier I need to buy. My budget is ~ $500/-
> Also, how much of the audio quality will be sacrificed if I end up
> buying a Receiver (as a last resort).

As someone else has posted the speakers are fairly sensitive and I
believe they are pretty easy to drive so you've got quite a few choices.
An integrated could make a nice choice, but if you are going to use the
powered sub most don't have any bass management.

While I know they are not considered the last word in high fidelity, a
receiver might just fit your budget a bit better, and will likely allow
easier integration of the sub due to bass management capabilities. It's
also possible that you will find that you don't need the sub -- this
will depend on personal preferences and the type of music you listen to,
but those PSBs aren't too bad at the low end, and a poorly integrated
sub can be far worse than none at all imo.

otoh, there is always the used market. An integrated from NAD, Rotel or
Bryston would be a nice find.


--
Bill

[Bantam]

Thanks Audiophiles, especially Bill, Stuart and Rob,
I am curious and call it my ignorance but can I use the Powered Sub
with a V2.0 Integrated Amp or does it need to be a 2.1?
I looked at the Cambridge Sub too and read its reviews but it does not
talk about adding a Sub to it. Please comment.
Secondly, I am all for buying a used Int. Amp. would ROTEL, NAD OR
BRYSTON fit the bill even with the Sub? Where can I buy the used stuff
from apart from eBa that I am aware of.
Anyways, I will shut up now and listen to your pearls of wisdom.

Hemendra

On Oct 19, 8:36 am, Bill Riel > wrote:
> In article m>,
> says...
>
> > Friends,
> > I have a friend who's selling me a set of PSB Image 5Ts and a PSB
> > Powered subwoofer.
> > My primary objective is listening music and not watching movies,
> > atleast not yet. Please advise me as to which Amplifier/Integrated
> > amplifier I need to buy. My budget is ~ $500/-
> > Also, how much of the audio quality will be sacrificed if I end up
> > buying a Receiver (as a last resort).As someone else has posted the speakers are fairly sensitive and I
> believe they are pretty easy to drive so you've got quite a few choices.
> An integrated could make a nice choice, but if you are going to use the
> powered sub most don't have any bass management.
>
> While I know they are not considered the last word in high fidelity, a
> receiver might just fit your budget a bit better, and will likely allow
> easier integration of the sub due to bass management capabilities. It's
> also possible that you will find that you don't need the sub -- this
> will depend on personal preferences and the type of music you listen to,
> but those PSBs aren't too bad at the low end, and a poorly integrated
> sub can be far worse than none at all imo.
>
> otoh, there is always the used market. An integrated from NAD, Rotel or
> Bryston would be a nice find.
>
> --
> Bill

[Bill Riel]

In article om>,
says...

> Thanks Audiophiles, especially Bill, Stuart and Rob,
> I am curious and call it my ignorance but can I use the Powered Sub
> with a V2.0 Integrated Amp or does it need to be a 2.1?

This depends on the sub - most powered subs will accept L/R speaker
inputs, in which case you can use a 2 channel Amp with them. To
effectively integrate the sub it must allow you to set the crossover and
volume level. Again, most modern subs will permit this, but I'm not
familiar with the PSB sub in question.

Typically, you want to set the sub's crossover so there's a slight
overlap with the low end extension of the speakers, but what actually
sounds the best can take a fair bit of trial and error.

Ideally, you don't want to notice the sub at all - it should just seem
as though your speakers have great low end extension. Probably with the
floorstanders in question we're talking about a crossover set at
something like 40 to 50 Hz or so, but it could be quite different
depending on your room and where the sub is placed. Sub placement has a
profound effect on how it sounds.

Bottom line: provided this sub has the ability to set the crossover and
volume level and has L/R speaker binding posts you can use it with any 2
channel amp.

And, as I said in my previous post, it's entirely possible that the bass
extension of the floorstanders in question will be more than adequate
for you without the sub.

For used audio gear, check out http://audiogon.com/

Have fun!

Bill

[Kalman Rubinson]

Few integrated amps have a dedicated output for the sub. As a result,
you need to find a way to separate off the LF for the sub. This can
be done in one of several ways:
1. If your integrated has a preamp (line-level) outputs and amp
(line-level) inputs, get a sub that has such inputs as well as
outputs for the main L+R. The sub is then inserted into the in/out
loops on the amp.
2. Get a powered sub with speaker level inputs and outputs. Feed the
amps outputs to the sub and run the main L+R speakers from the sub's
outputs.
3. Get a powered sub with speaker level inputs. This is wired in
parallel with your main speakers. The disadvantage of this (which
some think of as an advantage, btw) is that the main speakers still
get all the bass in addition to what the sub does.
4. Get an integrated with a sub output. They do exist.

Kal


On 19 Oct 2006 09:06:57 -0700, "Bantam" > wrote:

>Thanks Audiophiles, especially Bill, Stuart and Rob,
>I am curious and call it my ignorance but can I use the Powered Sub
>with a V2.0 Integrated Amp or does it need to be a 2.1?
>I looked at the Cambridge Sub too and read its reviews but it does not
>talk about adding a Sub to it. Please comment.
>Secondly, I am all for buying a used Int. Amp. would ROTEL, NAD OR
>BRYSTON fit the bill even with the Sub? Where can I buy the used stuff
>from apart from eBa that I am aware of.
>Anyways, I will shut up now and listen to your pearls of wisdom.
>
>Hemendra
>
>On Oct 19, 8:36 am, Bill Riel > wrote:
>> In article m>,
>> says...
>>
>> > Friends,
>> > I have a friend who's selling me a set of PSB Image 5Ts and a PSB
>> > Powered subwoofer.
>> > My primary objective is listening music and not watching movies,
>> > atleast not yet. Please advise me as to which Amplifier/Integrated
>> > amplifier I need to buy. My budget is ~ $500/-
>> > Also, how much of the audio quality will be sacrificed if I end up
>> > buying a Receiver (as a last resort).As someone else has posted the speakers are fairly sensitive and I
>> believe they are pretty easy to drive so you've got quite a few choices.
>> An integrated could make a nice choice, but if you are going to use the
>> powered sub most don't have any bass management.
>>
>> While I know they are not considered the last word in high fidelity, a
>> receiver might just fit your budget a bit better, and will likely allow
>> easier integration of the sub due to bass management capabilities. It's
>> also possible that you will find that you don't need the sub -- this
>> will depend on personal preferences and the type of music you listen to,
>> but those PSBs aren't too bad at the low end, and a poorly integrated
>> sub can be far worse than none at all imo.
>>
>> otoh, there is always the used market. An integrated from NAD, Rotel or
>> Bryston would be a nice find.
>>
>> --
>> Bill

[Bantam]

Friends,
Thanks for all your help.
I am thinking of buying NAD T743 A/V Receiver. Could you please comment
if it would be a good fit for my PSBs?
Here're the specs.
· 5 x 50W Simultaneous Minimum Continuous Power into 4 / 8 / 2 ohms
· 105W, 145W, 165W IHF Dynamic Power into 8, 4 and 2 ohms,
respectively
· Dolby Digital, DTS, ProLogic II, EARS and Enhanced Stereo
· 5 A/V Custom Presets store unique speaker level and tone control
settings
· Direct access speaker level adjustment for surround, center and
subwoofer
· Stereo Bypass
· NAD Soft Clipping ™
· 6 A/V Inputs, 3 with S-Video, 2 Full Tape Loops
· Component Video, 2 Inputs and 1 Output, HDTV Compatible
· 2 Audio Inputs, 1 Tape Output
· 6 Digital Inputs, 4 Coaxial, 2 TOS Link freely assignable
· 5.1 Analogue Input (for DVD-Audio)
· Speaker A + B switching (Speakers B stereo only)
· 2 x IR Outputs, IR Input
· 2 x 12V Trigger Outputs, 12V Trigger Input
· Preamp Outputs for all 5.1 channels (2 Subwoofers)
· Amplifier Input for 3 amplifier channels
RDS FM/AM Tuner with 30 direct access presets

Please let me know
Hemendra

On Oct 19, 10:22 am, Stuart Krivis > wrote:
> On 19 Oct 2006 09:06:57 -0700, "Bantam" > wrote:
>
> >Thanks Audiophiles, especially Bill, Stuart and Rob,
> >I am curious and call it my ignorance but can I use the Powered Sub
> >with a V2.0 Integrated Amp or does it need to be a 2.1?It's true that a receiver might have a special output just for the
> subwoofer.
>
> I was assuming that you would use the speaker-level inputs of the
> powered subwoofer. It probably isn't ideal, but I know people who are
> doing this and it works.
>
> I don't know much about the specific models from Cambridge. I've
> played with some of their stuff in the past and it seems to be pretty
> good quality at a decent price, without huge numbers of features
> you'll never use. I've talked to a lot of other people who like their
> stuff too, so it's one of the brands I recommend (Parasound also seems
> to have some very nice products).
>
> To be honest with you, I don't feel that there are huge differences
> between the way various amps and preamps sound, or at least nowhere
> near the differences between speaker systems.
>
> Yes, there is some really lousy audio electronics around, but the
> major brands people have been mentioning are above that, in the middle
> group. In the middle group you get good performance at a rational
> price. Above the middle group, you may get better performance and you
> may not, but you will surely pay more.
>
> >Secondly, I am all for buying a used Int. Amp. would ROTEL, NAD OR
> >BRYSTON fit the bill even with the Sub? Where can I buy the used stuff
> >from apart from eBa that I am aware of.www.audiogon.comis a good place to get used equipment. Some of the
> various audio web forums also have for sale sections.
>
> >Anyways, I will shut up now and listen to your pearls of wisdom.
>
> >Hemendra
>
> >On Oct 19, 8:36 am, Bill Riel > wrote:
> >> In article m>,
> >> says...
>
> >> > Friends,
> >> > I have a friend who's selling me a set of PSB Image 5Ts and a PSB
> >> > Powered subwoofer.
> >> > My primary objective is listening music and not watching movies,
> >> > atleast not yet. Please advise me as to which Amplifier/Integrated
> >> > amplifier I need to buy. My budget is ~ $500/-
> >> > Also, how much of the audio quality will be sacrificed if I end up
> >> > buying a Receiver (as a last resort).As someone else has posted the speakers are fairly sensitive and I
> >> believe they are pretty easy to drive so you've got quite a few choices.
> >> An integrated could make a nice choice, but if you are going to use the
> >> powered sub most don't have any bass management.
>
> >> While I know they are not considered the last word in high fidelity, a
> >> receiver might just fit your budget a bit better, and will likely allow
> >> easier integration of the sub due to bass management capabilities. It's
> >> also possible that you will find that you don't need the sub -- this
> >> will depend on personal preferences and the type of music you listen to,
> >> but those PSBs aren't too bad at the low end, and a poorly integrated
> >> sub can be far worse than none at all imo.
>
> >> otoh, there is always the used market. An integrated from NAD, Rotel or
> >> Bryston would be a nice find.
>
> >> --
> >> Bill

[MiNe 109]

In article om>,
"Bantam" > wrote:

> Friends,
> Thanks for all your help.
> I am thinking of buying NAD T743 A/V Receiver. Could you please comment
> if it would be a good fit for my PSBs?

PSB and NAD are sold side-by-side in audio shops. PSBs aren't much of a
problem for amps and NAD can deal with most speakers.

I just bought a NAD T753 to use with inexpensive Infinity speakers and
have nothing to complain about other than the wiring problem common to
all home theater receivers.

Stephen