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advice needed on 1st real stereo system

Hi everyone,

I am a 1st time "real" stereo buyer and would really appreciate some advice from a community of experts. I am looking for a system for my living room (about 20x20), for a wide range of music (jazz, classical, rock) and tv/movies etc.

1. I am looking at the Peachtree Decco/Nova amps. I get that the Nova has more power, but will the Decco suffice at 65 w per channel? I will not be blasting music at full volume, but does wattage also improve sound at low/moderate levels?

2. I am looking at a pair of Totem Rainmaker speakers, any thoughts on these or others?

3. Do expensive speaker cables make a difference?

Thanks so much in advance for your advice!
newguy1
jburidan
803 posts
 
Welcome Newguy1:
With inefficient (low-sensitivity) speakers, a tube hybrid integrated amp is a good way to go. Also, rear-ported speakers should sit at least one yard away from the wall to avoid boom in the bass.
csontos
1,311 posts
 
Go with the amp that sounds the best. 3db is all you're going to gain by doubling the power. As Elizabeth noted, we typically listen in watts and milliwatts, not tens and hundreds of watts. That first watt is the largest increase in spl you will ever experience no matter how powerful the amp is. In fact, a 1000 watt amp is only about twice as loud as a 100 watt amp. Smaller amps of quality tend to be better than their big brothers in terms of overall performance imo. They're quieter, faster, with more resolution.
phaelon's avatar
phaelon
1,038 posts
 
Everybody is giving you good advise. As a first timer, system set-up ; particularly getting the right speakers positioned correctly; is going to be your most challenging task. If you don’t have an experienced friend to help you, then a qualified dealer, who will spend the time necessary to see the installation through, will be worth the extra expense of buying new.
newguy1 OP
4 posts
 
Thanks again everyone - hugely helpful all around.

Today I listened to a Rotel RA-12 vs Peachtree Decco with BW CM1s. Slightly preferred the Decco (fuller, richer sound), but then the Decco started smoking! It was pretty crazy...

We were playing the system pretty loud so I asked if the amp blew out, but store guy said the speakers would have blown out first, so didn't know what happened. I am now very hesitant to buy the Peachtree despite the great sound...
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
I would check the archives on the Peachtree quality also check for dealer support in the archives if both are good I would not worry about a single incident (but that is a weird one - even though the B&W CM1 is 84db and 5.1 min imp that should not happen)
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