Nopcbs and Snootybiffer,
I agree with all you've said, except for the part about the Gold's not imaging well. I have owned a pair of Gold i's for the past 5 years, and I still love to sit down in front of them and 1) blast out a rift from Boston as well as 2) listen to the subtle differences in percussive timbre with Blue Man Group just as much as listening to jazz and classical.
If anyone is thinking of buying a pair of these 'beutes, know that they WILL demand some oomph to really shine. I have run mine with a Denon AVR5700 receiver (190 watts/channel at 4 ohms rated...140 at 8 ohms), as well as with a seperate 200 watt/channel amp from Sunfire. While the Denon did a pretty decent job, the Sunfire REALLY makes them sparkle. The midrange to mid-lower range of the spectrum are these speakers forte', in my opinion. Very tight and yet quick...listening to percussion is a real blast! I have NOT found speakers that sound nearly this good NEAR this price range (I A/B'd them with Paradigm studio 100's, Phase Technology PC500's, and Boston Acoustic VR's, and the Goldi's crushed them with all content).
One other note here...I have used these as front L/R's in my 7.1 surround setup for HT with the mentioned Denon receiver for over 4 years, and have never been dissapointed. I do run them with a Velodyne HGS-10 subwoofer, but I run the Gold's in "large" format...now THAT's some thundering bass, but never fatuiging.
In short, your own ears must be the judge, but if you have a chance to pick up a pair of these on the 'net, think hard about it!
-Doc
I agree with all you've said, except for the part about the Gold's not imaging well. I have owned a pair of Gold i's for the past 5 years, and I still love to sit down in front of them and 1) blast out a rift from Boston as well as 2) listen to the subtle differences in percussive timbre with Blue Man Group just as much as listening to jazz and classical.
If anyone is thinking of buying a pair of these 'beutes, know that they WILL demand some oomph to really shine. I have run mine with a Denon AVR5700 receiver (190 watts/channel at 4 ohms rated...140 at 8 ohms), as well as with a seperate 200 watt/channel amp from Sunfire. While the Denon did a pretty decent job, the Sunfire REALLY makes them sparkle. The midrange to mid-lower range of the spectrum are these speakers forte', in my opinion. Very tight and yet quick...listening to percussion is a real blast! I have NOT found speakers that sound nearly this good NEAR this price range (I A/B'd them with Paradigm studio 100's, Phase Technology PC500's, and Boston Acoustic VR's, and the Goldi's crushed them with all content).
One other note here...I have used these as front L/R's in my 7.1 surround setup for HT with the mentioned Denon receiver for over 4 years, and have never been dissapointed. I do run them with a Velodyne HGS-10 subwoofer, but I run the Gold's in "large" format...now THAT's some thundering bass, but never fatuiging.
In short, your own ears must be the judge, but if you have a chance to pick up a pair of these on the 'net, think hard about it!
-Doc