Lost Help Amp for PSB imagine T


Hello all.

I'm newbie and totally lost at the very begining.... so please shed the lights.

I was about to build my first low-fi entry level system with NAD C326Bee + PSB image T65.

However last week, I accidently found a good deal in my local area which could not be ignored so bought a pair of excellent condition PSB Imagine T tower speakers. I really like it.

The problem is... I don't own any amp/receiver yet and I have no idea what to choose.
I have a cheapo Yamaha S1800 unversal player as a main cd-player and considering it to use as a transporter with a decent DAC some time in the future.

Followings are my initial lists of integrated amps for PSB Imagine T tower.

NAD C326Bee or up
Creek 5350SE
Naim Nait 5i
Jolida 302B or 1501RC
Cayin integrated
Simaudio Moon i-1

Unfortunately, there are no audio shops near my town so I need your help.
My budget is under $1K and lower the better since I have to spend more into cables, etc,...

What is the best bang for the buck amp for PSB Imagine T?
czar2000
The NAD is designed to work with the PSB speakers. Naim also works well from my past experience. Speakers are fairly sensative so anything with 30 clean watts will be ok in small to medium room.
a lot of folk tout the nad/psb synergy; i've heard psb auditioned with nad and been unmoved--it's ok but kinda static. on the other hand, i auditioned the imagine bookshelves with a naim integrated and thought it sounded great--full of life. like mlauner says, the imagines are reasonably efficient, so the 50w naim should do fine. add in great resale value and i just don't think you can go wrong with it.
I own a pair of PSB Platinum T8's paired with a NAD M3 (waiting on an amp stand to use my Musical Fidelity M5 w/all). I also own a Creek 5350 (the newer version) that I use with Monitor Audio Silvers. I've also mixed these amps with my speakers with good results. I'm toying with the idea of buying the Synchrony Ones but that's another story. I obviously can vouch for the NAD and/or Creek and have read good reviews on the other brands but have never listened. I think you will enjoy any pick of those amps w/your new speakers. Be on the lookout for my Creek Classic if the Synchrony Ones keep weighing on my mind.
I have a Simaudio i-1 and PSB Imagine T's. The sound is incredible! I also auditioned the Creek and Naim units and found all 3 to be very close, but I personally liked Sim the best; it also has a 10 year warranty and seemed to be constructed the best of the 3. However, I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. Keep in mind, the Imagines are 4 ohms so affectively the Sim integrated is putting out 100 watts vs. the 50 that its rated for. However, I did have to install a pair of 10 dB GoldenJack attenuators to keep my Arcam CD73t player from overdriving the amp. I didn't have this problem with my 8 ohm pair of Totem Sttaf speakers (very nice for a small room, by the way). Attenuators reduce the drive signal to an amplifier so that the input level or gain control can be adjusted in a more useful range. The sound is just as incredible as before and I can now turn the volume back up to the 2 o'clock position vs. 9 o'clock without the attenuators; my amp is also putting out twice the power. The Imagine's have very deep, detailed bass and I found they sounded even better using bi-wire (highs and lows). The difference wasn't as pronounced with my Totems. I purchase all my wire from Signal Cable and I don't think you'll find a better performance/price ratio for budget cables. I auditioned a 2k Bryston BDA-1 DAC for 2 days on my system and it added alot of depth and smoothed out the sound considerably on CD's that were recorded well to begin with. However, on average to poor CD's it didn't do much to enhance them. Honestly, it's not a 2k upgrade. I think a DAC would prove most beneficial with MP3's and Computer based music. Based on that experience, I upgraded my 25 year old turntable and purchased a Music Hall MMF-5.1. I will purchase a DAC someday (probably a used Benchmark DAC1 USB on Audiogon), but I'm not in any rush. I plan to interface with my CDP, and either a Squeezebox Touch or Sonos system. I hope you've found this info helpful.