Just bought a pair of GMA continuum 1s...

Good deal or no?

Hi Roy,

I'll relay the message. Thanks for the response!

I talked to you for quite a while about a year ago. You were very clear, informative, down to earth... this spoke loudly about your genuine passion for your art (something of a rare quality), which in turn peaked my interest in GMA. Keep up the good work.

So, the seller said he was going to ship the speakers in 4 separate boxes, all well-packed (2 for base, 2 for midrange/tweeter). Does this sound adequate?

Just out of curiosity, how do these speakers compare with your also discontinued Europas?

I'm excited.

I suggested to the seller that he/she contact you prior to shipping. Thanks for the help.

I have a question about my amp. I have a very nice headphone amp right now... which does me no good for speakers. My only amp for the time being is an integrated 50wpc Pioneer that is somewhere around 10-15 years old.

I know this is far from ideal. Is there any reason I shouldn't use this in the meantime before I pickup a better amp? I guess my main thought is that maybe it will under-power the woofers which, in turn, may generate heat and damage the drivers. I thought I heard that this can happen, but I'm not sure to be honest. What do you think?

I will not be pushing these speakers to extremely high SPLs (I'm more of a quiet-to-moderate listener) so hopefully my amp will stay reasonably low on the distortion curve.

I used to push a pair of Paradigm Atoms with it and they sounded surprisingly good... and the Atoms are rated as having about the same efficiency as the C1s... so I'm hopeful that my little Pioneer will tow the line until funds allow an upgrade.

It's good to hear all the positive input! This is the result of much research into different options and opinions.

Roy, my amp is the weakest link in my chain, so it's good to hear that you put a bit more weight on the upstream components.

I have an Audio Mirror NOS DAC that sounds very nice, Jellyfish power cables and blue jeans interconnects and speaker wire. Not 'SOTA' stuff, but sounds good to me with my headphone setup.

On that note, it will be interesting to compare my headphones (AKG K701 w/ APSv3 cable) with the C1s. It will be tough to beat the clarity and accuracy, but I'm not looking for a 1-up on those attributes. K701s are great, but a bit harsh on the high end at times, and a bit lacking on the low-end. Being tethered to your sound system can feel a bit limiting as well.

Plus, I heard that well designed speakers image much better than headphones. I can't judge whether this is true yet or not because my listening awareness just wasn't in an 'audiophile' realm until fairly recently in my life. K701s are known for a deep soundstage, but it seems to only really stretch out on a select number of recordings... often times I still feel like everything is very close to me, which can be a bit confining / tiring.

Also, there is something to be said about experiencing music with good company at times... which obviously doesn't happen with headphones.

Anywho, thanks again and take care all.

Roy-

These speakers are beautiful. This is the most balanced, lucid sound I've ever heard. My Pioneer 50wpc integrated sits at about 9:30 usually... so efficient. I can play them quite soft as well while still maintaining a clear image.

About the owners guide - I actually don't have it, but I read the one posted on your website for the GMA continuum 3's.

My room now is a bit small... it's under 8 feet wide. I brought the speakers out about 2 and a half feet from the back wall and separated them by 5 feet. I sit about 5-6 feet back... this sounds great to me.

Tejay