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Your thoughts on my plans..

After reading through some of the forums, I might be a bit under developed for this forum, but I was invited after buying a Era Gold mk.V with PSU1..

I am setting up my first phono system and the only real experience I have is many decades ago with my fathers technics ?? turntable and Teac amplifier.
I have some disposable income, but am not wealthy and didn’t want to spend a fortune to break into this world right away.. I think I’ll likely inherit some of my dad’s record collection - but I’ll also be buying newer albums to listen to. My music taste is fairly eclectic with more emphasis on country (think Chris Stapleton / Eric Church) and folk (think Mumford & Sons / Lumineers).

I have purchased a Pro-Ject X1, GSP Era Gold mk. V with PSU1 and Martin Logan Motion 40 speakers.. i plan to amp through either my Sonos Amp (125w/ch) or my Yamaha A1010 AVR (110w/ch)...first choice being Sonos so I can also stream to other speakers around the home...although I’m open to buying a dedicated amp and if neither of these do sonic justice. Besides the two amplifiers, I’m still waiting on all to be delivered..
I’ve read through the forum a little tonight and feel my system is undeserving of being here, but thought some of you might have an opinion on my choices so far and if you think I’ve made any poor life choices so far.
kintama21
kintama21 OP
7 posts
 
One thing I’m struggling to find is: are the ML Motion 40s 4 ohm nominal impedance rating due to 4 ohm drivers or if the drivers are 8 ohm and the 4 ohm rating comes from the bi-wired terminals which would be two 8 ohm speakers run in parallel from the same amp channel? 

I may have to call Martin Logan to ask that question..

Sonos states it’s okay to run two 8 ohm speakers from each channel, but not to connect a speaker at or below 4 ohms. (Seems to contradict the Amp rating - but I’m not knowledgeable on the math of this)

I’m window shopping for a short list of dedicated 2ch amps now. ;)
skypunk's avatar
skypunk
499 posts
 
+1 @speakermaster. Enjoy what you have now and what path these components take you on.

This hobby of ours is more a journey, and trial by fire. Believe me over the years I have bought and sold a lot of gear. I think I found my Audio Happy Place with Moon/ Thorens/ Raven Audio. Now it’s just tweaking this and that in my system. 
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9143

Enjoy the journey and hear the music not your gear.
cal3713's avatar
cal3713
1,421 posts
 
If they state that the speakers are 4ohms, then it's 4ohms "as connected to the amplifier".  So if you disconnect the two circuits at the terminals, then all bets are off for what impedances each will independently present.  They could be 8 and 8, or any other combination that sums to 4 when run in parallel.
kintama21 OP
7 posts
 
Newbie question.. I don’t feel I need an “integrated amp” with multiple inputs. With the GSP Era Gold I definitely don’t need a phono stage..  If I buy a power amplifier, how do I adjust volume? Something like the Parasound A23+ meets my power requirement but doesn’t seem to have a volume control. 
smrex13
645 posts
 
If you are buying something like the A23+, you will need a preamp to control the volume.  The A23+ is a power amp, so it's only job is amplify the signal that comes to it.  A preamp allows input switching and volume control.  An integrated amplifier combines the preamp and the power amp in one box.
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