Buying the PSB T6 or wait.

[Harley450]

I've listend to enough speakers and now I'm ready to listen to some IN my house. I know the PSB T6's have been out for some time (years) and was wondering if buying these now may miss a newer version coming soon.
Does anyone know of an upgrade on it's way or not or how long they usually go in-between?
Any suggestions on-line for the cheapest place?
NOW a big question is going to be picking a receiver. I already have my H.T. in another room so this is strictly music. I have a Denon 2803 and suppose I could add a room to it but then again, I'd have to go 50 feet back and forth to adjust sound and change music.
Eventually, I'll add a sub, connect an Ipod and not sure what else I should look for and not spend something I wont use or need.
Thanks.

 

[j_garcia]

The right people to ask that would be PSB, but for some reason, I kind of doubt they have new ones coming out soon.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

My feeling is that the newer models won't sound any better than the "older" models; they will both sound equally great.

I think an AVR like the Yamaha 673 ($390) or 473 ($280) would be great.

Amazon.com: Yamaha RX-V673 7.2-Channel Network AV Receiver: Electronics

Amazon.com: Yamaha RX-V473 5.1-Channel Network AV Receiver: Electronics

 

[Harley450]

I did e-mail PSB but never heard back and thought maybe someone here would know something. I've seen a lot of things go on sale after a new model comes out but oh well.
I tied searching pairing, matching receivers to these in the receiver topic and it's not coming up with anything but I know it must have been asked a million times...

 

[j_garcia]

You don't need to match the receiver to the speakers. Just get one with the features you want and appropriate amount of power and it will be fine. Receivers from different manufacturers do have slightly different sounds IMHO, but in the same price category they will generally be more similar than not. The speakers make the biggest single difference in sound.

 

[Harley450]

Thanks.
I dont want to make a mistake and under power these or spend unnecessary. What more to look at other then wattage? I like Rock, southern rock and country music if that helps. I also like them loud and have no neighbors
Thanks again.

 

[j_garcia]

The size of your room and the sensitivity and impedance of all of the speakers. The T6s show they are 8 Ohms nominal and do drop as low as 4 Ohms but are 91dB sensitive, so they should still be relatively easy to drive. That they dip low may be a minor concern and I'd not want to power them with something on the bottom end of the spectrum - the 673 might be enough if your room isn't huge. I'd probably look for something a with a little more power since you like to listen loud, and preamp outputs to add an amp down the road (didn't see if the 673 had them or not).

Aside from that, I'd look at options like HDMI passthru, which the 673 has.

 

[3db]

I did e-mail PSB but never heard back and thought maybe someone here would know something. I've seen a lot of things go on sale after a new model comes out but oh well.
I tied searching pairing, matching receivers to these in the receiver topic and it's not coming up with anything but I know it must have been asked a million times...

The only thing you need to match receiver and speakers with is power delivery. Can the AVR drive the speakers at a confortable loudness level without clipping or going into protection mode. That's your only concern.

How big is your room and how loud do you want to play them? The reason I ask these questions is that these speakers dip into 4 ohms for a good part of the audio spectrum. They are fairly efficient and don't have an adverse phase angle so they aren't overly hard to drive. But they still dip into 4 ohms. I would stay away from the bottom tier AVR from any of the AVR manufacturers and move closer towards the mid tier models.

 

[PENG]

You said strictly for music but how many channels?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

You said strictly for music but how many channels?

Yeah, no kidding. DenPureSound (RIP) used to love 7.1 Stereo mode for music.

 

[Goat1]

You don't need to match the receiver to the speakers. Just get one with the features you want and appropriate amount of power and it will be fine. Receivers from different manufacturers do have slightly different sounds IMHO, but in the same price category they will generally be more similar than not. The speakers make the biggest single difference in sound.

That is absolutely false! Its not always the receiver ,but the tech inside it. Martin Logans are excellent for music,one of the best,of course some guys will cite the sweet spot,which doesn't matter because your the only one listening. I went from my Onkyo 805 to the new Onkyo 818 and it made a world of difference.. So yes,the type of gear you match with the speakers,does matter to an extent.

 

[3db]

That is absolutely false! Its not always the receiver ,but the tech inside it. Martin Logans are excellent for music,one of the best,of course some guys will cite the sweet spot,which doesn't matter because your the only one listening. I went from my Onkyo 805 to the new Onkyo 818 and it made a world of difference.. So yes,the type of gear you match with the speakers,does matter to an extent.

There's a big debate about this in another thread. The only extent you need to worry about is if the speaker's load presented to the AVR are well within the intended design parameters of the AVR. If the speakers are something AVRs can easily handle from different manufactureres, then there will NO difference in sound when by passing all DSP and room coorection facilities.

To say Yamaha's are bright receivers compared to a Marantz as an example is the biggest joke in audio circles today. It simply isn't true. IHO, there are far too many snake oil myths that sales people like to promote in the industry with next to no understanding of the principles and physical laws that govern sound, amplification, and human perception of sound.

 

[Goat1]

I didn't mean the power,brand ect.. I actually meant there are things the manufacturer adds to the receiver,like an eq or something. Some people like pure mode,I myself like stereo w/subs and the eq curve on music with dynamic eq on. Everyone has their preference. Having said that.. are you saying... an Emotiva XPA3 like the one I have sounds no different than a 5k Sunfire amp?

 

[3db]

I didn't mean the power,brand ect.. I actually meant there are things the manufacturer adds to the receiver,like an eq or something. Some people like pure mode,I myself like stereo w/subs and the eq curve on music with dynamic eq on. Everyone has their preference. Having said that.. are you saying... an Emotiva XPA3 like the one I have sounds no different than a 5k Sunfire amp?

I can agree with that statement. Different models offers different features, room eq, DSP modes, etc and that certianly will factor in to make things sound differently. And to answer your question...if the speakers are well within the Emotiva and SUnfire's intended loads, then yes, you will NOT be able to distinguish between them in a single blind listening test.

 

[Goat1]

I kind of figured that.. So what's the point of spending 3k-10k on an amp then?

 

[3db]

I kind of figured that.. So what's the point of spending 3k-10k on an amp then?

It gives you a much broader range of speaker choices for when the upgrade bug bites next time. Also, if you have extra cash to burn, aethetics could enter the picture and you could get one that looks as good as it sounds. Translated, the wife/gf will be more likely to approve your purchase .

 

[Grador]

I kind of figured that.. So what's the point of spending 3k-10k on an amp then?

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/amps-pre-pros-receivers/84632-can-you-hear-difference-sound-between-audio-amplifiers-52.html#post961362

Read from this post on for a little while for in depth discussion.

 

[Steve81]

I kind of figured that.. So what's the point of spending 3k-10k on an amp then?

Same reason you might spend several thousand dollars on a watch instead of just getting a $10 Timex.

 

[3db]

Same reason you might spend several thousand dollars on a watch instead of just getting a Timex.

Nice way of putting it.

 

[Grador]

Nice way of putting it.

Agreed, kinda upset I didn't think of this one myself.