Need advice for bedroom audio system

starbux48 -- Sat, 05/14/2011 - 07:14

I am in process of setting up a stereo 2-channel system in my bedroom. Located there is a MacBook Pro to play lossless music & Internet radio, a blu-ray player, & HDTV w/cable box. Mostly want to tune/build system for music, with secondary uses being blu-ray (& streaming movies) and tv/cable output.
Found a good deal on some PSB Image B6 speakers so bought them but searching either for a matching amp or even considering selling the PSB's and buying whole new combination.
Have read many good reviews of NAD amps like the C326BEE to match the PSB speakers. Also considering Polk Audio Rti A3 speaker pair w/either Onkyo A-9555 integrated amp or a Yamaha A-S500 integrated amp.
Music listened to is a lot of classical from whatever source, folk, jazz, rock. No metal, hiphop, rap, etc. Would like my setup to be optimal (in my budget) to hear good separation of instruments in classical & jazz, clean vocals, etc.
Saw a posting thread here moments ago where the NAD C326BEE was recommended in a much larger room so should be more than adequate for my needs, but what is the recommendation?

staxguy -- Wed, 05/18/2011 - 09:22

For my bedroom, I use a pair of PSB Stratus Gold speakers, a Rotel 980BX amplifer, a Proceed Pre pre-amplifer, Ah! Tojeb CD Player, and Transparent Cable The Wave wires. You have a better digital source in your setup, likely, but the PSB image B6 or even the PSB Image T6 speakers, while fine looking, won't give you much bass.
The Stratus Gold, while old and ugly (the i model update is prettier), give a spec'ed 36Hz-20kHz ±1dB
response, plus an even better in-room response, which in my experience owning speakers like Klipsch Heressy II's before, is a good starting point for bass response, without the necessity of a subwoofer. If you listen to folk music or chamber music exclusively, this won't be an issue, but with rock, you'll want decent bass response for classic albums by Pink Floyd, etc. or even larger scale classical pieces.
I've never been a fan of NAD electronics, especially compared to brands like Rotel or even Adcom, but the C326BEE get's a good review from the British What Hi-Fi, and mentions good bass response, and at 300 GBP, it looks cheap and well-matched to your B6.
You mention no budget, so I will offer no recomendations other than give my experience, except to perhaps suggest you listen to the USB connected and self-powered B&W $500 MM-1 digital active speakers, connected directly to your MacBook Pro, bypassing everything else, and saving you a lot of extra junk in your bedroom.

You won't hear much hi-fi wise, with these tiny Bose looking digital speakers, but, as background music generating sources they are truely exceptional, given the price and dimunitive size. Walking away from the demonstration pair setup at the front desk in a most cavernous hi-fi salon (two storey room, quite long and reasonably wide) while the music still played, I was amazed at their ability to fill the room, at a distance. The sound actually improved, as it reflected, and became more real. Impressive.
You may still want to go the component route, with PSB, NAD, etc. or else Polk, Onkyo, Yamaha, etc. after comparison, but the comparison is worth it. You might also want to consider visiting a pro-audio store to audition some active mixing monitors, many of which are small and inexpensive, and may just be what you are looking for for folk, jazz and rock in the bedroom.
On the other end of the scale, I can suggest speakers like the Nautilus 802 diamond, for full-level adaquate listening driven by Classe CTM-600 amplifers or used cheap mid-level gear such as I have, but this can take up a lot of room in the bedroom, and you certainly want to consider a good stand for your gear, unless you already have a cabinet.