I have not had my system out of the box for many years. I just bought a Rega P1 that requires some work. Not sure what that means yet. Assuming it works my system will look as follows. If I were to change something for $1K what would you suggest. I don't know how this equipment holds up against what's current now.
Hafler DH-200 amp NAD 1020 preamp PSB Century 400i speakers Rega P1 Kimber Kable brown 8-strands Monster interconnects between amp and pre CD player: none Tuner: none
A trip to the shop for a good cleaning. Reterminate the wires/clean cables and jacks. Put it together, and see how it fits in your present room. Move the speakers around to find the best spot.
You could use a new integrated amplifier to replace the NAD and Hafler. Though if you have no CD player you can't play CD's. And without LP's your turntable won't make much sound.
How sensitive (SPL-wise) are the speakers? Can they run on low wattage or do they require some muscle?
I have no idea technically how sensitive they are. I have no numbers but I don't think they require a lot of muscle. I will know more when the turntable gets here I suppose.
Speaking of upgrades, while browsing around I saw these items that seemed to get some great reviews:
Vincent Stereo Power Amplifier SP-331 Rogue Audio Metis preamp Rega P3 (yes, I know I have not even received the P1 yet).
Speaker-wise I simply do not have room for anything larger so I'm willing to stick with those for quite a while.
Jan you used the term "integrated amp". Is there one of these that you have in mind?
Not until I have some idea how much power and grunt your current speakers require or whether they would be replaced also. The class T amps offer exceptional performance at low prices. The Trends Audio TA10 has received very good reviews. It is a six watt amplifier that requires speakers with a minimum sensitivity of 90dB @ 1 watt and a consistently high impedance load. A new unit called the Winsome Labs Mouse offers similar value with more power.
http://avguide.com
Six Moons has their Blue Moon awards for sonic excellence - as perceived by their writers.
When you read reviews make certain you know what the reviewer prefers. Read a few reviews by the same writer to determine whether their preferences fit with yours. Otherwise, you'll find many products getting good reviews while they won't suit your personal needs.
There probably has never been a better time to assemble a budget system. Computer optimization and the still cheap manufacturing costs of China make for some terrific values. The best I can offer is to read, mostly think about what you read and hear and then go audition. You can have better sound than your current gear offers, though your present system has many advantages to build upon. Knowing what music does sound like is always the most important thing IMO. If you haven't heard live music in a while, go to a few concerts before you go buying equipment. The benefits from that step are immeasureable as far as I'm concerned.
My speakers have a sensitivity rated as 87dB at 6ohms. I called PSB and that's what the guy told me. Does it seem like these would work with one of these Class-T amps?
The under $1000 options to drive that speaker are going to be hard to come by.....at least in something new. You'd need to go the integrated route as Jan suggested, as separates would be even harder to negotiate at that price point.
Most Class T amps wouldn't have the juice for what you need (some would though), but some Class D amps certainly would. Onkyo makes a Class D amp (A-9555) that's 85W for $799 list. I've never been a big Onkyo fan but I've read good things about this amp for the price.
The only Class T amp that comes to mind is the Little Dot T 100. It's 60W I think and sells for only $399. Most folks prefer the Trends unit sonically, but this unit is supposed to sound pretty fair.
I'm not sure whether the Little Dot is an internet only product, or whether they have a dealer network. Certainly there are lots of outlets for Onkyo gear.
I emailed the guy from Winsome and he thought their amp should have no trouble driving my speakers. I bit the bullet and bought one so we'll see in a few days. If not, I can return it and create a plan B.
I figured it would be worth the risk at that price. I'll keep you posted.
The Century 400i isn't a very difficult speaker to drive. I drove a pair with my NAD 304 (35 watts) with pretty good results. They could have benefitted from more power, but they didn't demand it.
PSB is very good in reporting true specs. I'd put them in the same category as Harmon Kardon in this regard. I believe they are 6 ohm nominal, and 4 ohm minimum.
Realistically speaking, 50 honest and clean watts should be more than sufficient, provided the amp can go down to 4 ohms without problems and the room isn't too big.
Well, I'm sitting here listening to the Winsome amp and it's certainly loud enough to drive my speakers (86dB, 6ohm). And by a far margin. Right now it's going thru the NAD1020 and I'm playing a cd on a $30 cd/dvd player. I had the Winsome up all the way, the NAD up < 25% and my wife was screaming at me to turn it down. So all is well.
It really sounds great. Bass seems a lot tighter and better. Voices are better. Everything is better and quite a bit cleaner.
I suppose I could bypass the NAD to see how that sounds. The winsome has a volume knob so you can use it as an integrated amp if you wish.