Same watts at 8 and 4 ohms?

You guys are teaching me a lot but not making it any easier.


I'm just waiting for the magic word on the perfect $2000 integrated to match with a pair of $6000 speakers.  ;-)

@twoleftears I think those have been recommended but I can't remember if I have checked them out. But I will.

@tomcy6 These speakers will rarely be played at more than 50% volume if that.

@georgehifi I have a Levinson, well, Madrigal, dual monaural amp for my Aerial 7Bs and it is huge and heavy. No way the wife is going to allow a pair of monoblocks in there. She can't wait for me to get the Classe' and the Bryston out.

By tested do you mean what the manufacturer will publish (some don't give 4 ohm numbers) or do I need to look for an independent test?

Thanks djones51. I should also mention that these will rarely if ever be used at high volumes and in fact I would put more of a premium on low volume listening in this room.
I have an NAD C316BEE down at my cabin and it sounds really good for the price. That Guttenberg guys says the 316 is his 'reference' budget amp for whatever that is worth.
Anyway, I guess it may just come down to trial and error, order and return but I do hope to narrow it down to two or three.
I don't think the Cambridge has a DAC, which I am looking for. The NAD does have a DAC.

I might start with the NAD. Also considering a Peachtree Audio Nova300 and remote possibility of a used Gato DIA 250. Some reservations about the Gato in that it is well over my preferred budget and I wonder about the possibility of service if needed.

@atmasphere "There's a recording of the Saint Saens Organ Symphony on EMI that has 16Hz pedal tones."

I've got the Telarc recording. I have no idea how low does it go or how low my system limbos, but when that organ blasts through my Aerial 7Bs, the house rumbles and you feel it in your chest even at moderate volume.


I might have to see if I can get a copy of the EMI CD.

I think you can see it. 

I appreciate you guys helping out. This stuff is mind numbing if you’re not into it.

My primary system is an older one that was given to me. It was researched to the nth degree by the original owner. The point being that I’ve never had to do this sort of legwork and to be honest it isn’t one of the things about being an audiophile that appeals to me.

But, this person passed away and left me the speakers that I’m researching now. They are Aerial Acoustics 6Ts. Specs are below.

These will be part of my secondary system which will get used much less than my primary. It is not in a room that is ideal for listening so ultimate SQ is not the goal here and my budget is limited....you might even say stretched to no more than $2000.

I’ve got several threads going about this and I’m no closer to narrowing my search. Professional reviews can be all over the place and other Audiogon members can have completely different experiences than pro reviewers. One person says product 'A' is awesome and someone else says its horrible. As mentioned, the stats don’t always tell you what you need. And it almost seems like the speakers were designed to require high dollar components.

Here are the specs:

Frequency Response 35 Hz to 25 kHz ±2 dB, -6 dB at 30 Hz
Sensitivity 90 dB for 2.83 volts at 1 meter on axis
Impedance 4 ohms, 3 ohms minimum, low reactance
Power Requirements 25 watts minimum, >50 recommended

Well, in my defense (as if speaker choice needs defending) I got both sets of my speakers for free and driven properly they both sound amazing to my far-from-golden ears. 

Thanks and happy birthday. So far these speakers have sounded wonderful with several less than ideal component combinations and with my far-from-golden ears I think the Sonos will be fine.


I'll be 57. My mom says I've always been an old man.

Elliott, thank you for the thoughtful response. I will take it all into consideration.

However, right now and against the prevailing wisdom here is what I am going to do and why.

I am going to order the Sonos Amp for my birthday next month. Here is why:

Class D, 125w into 8, 200 into 4 and "4 ohm stable" for whatever that is worth. Right now I'm satisfied with 75w into 8 from an old Onkyo AV unit. The Sonos AMP will be a step up from that I suspect. If so I can live happily with it.

It is small, runs cool, nothing else will need to be attached to it since I can ditch the Sonos Connect and use it elsewhere. That means it will be discrete and out of sight and make my wife happy and be controlled entirely by my cell phone or hers. And that is important! She will use it if it is no more than using the Sonos app. And if she uses it then there is buy-in and that is good.

It comes with a trial period with free return shipping so no risk if it turns out to be a huge mistake.

It has balance, simple EQ and fairly effect "loudness" switch for low volume listening. Even with the Onkyo and even at low volume the bass via Sonos with loudness on sounds very pleasing to me.

If the Sonos Amp plus the Aerial 6Ts just don't work out I can try the Aerial 5Ts plus the JL Audio sub with the Sonos Amp but I would rather not since I'm not fond of subs and that is more room clutter to make my wife unhappy. The 5Ts and the sub are still for sale right now.

I see the Parasound Halo 2.1 here on Audiogon for around $1700. Will consider it. It isn't small or compact but no larger than the NAD.

I have talked with the owner about other things but not this. I feel like the limitations I am up against (budget, size, room limits, intended use, etc) make it unlikely that he will be able to recommend something adequate for these speakers.

I have heard that he imports Gato amps. I cannot afford one of those. I have heard he endorses the Peachtree products. One of those is one the short list.

I'm waffling all over the place between going all out (makes no sense as I will not be using these often) and just getting rid of the speakers since there is no actual need for them to just getting a Sonos Amp which makes the most practical sense but not the best SQ sense.

Still not in a hurry. the Bryston still sounds wonderful, it has not sold yet and my wife hasn't made any threats.

@mt9894, one of my restrictions is that for these speakers to stay in the living room, the stuff driving them needs to be fairly small and discrete.

The Classe' and Bryston (which I am selling for an estate) in there now are not making my wife very happy. And it wouldn't hurt that whatever I end up choosing has a nice design factor like the Peachtree stuff.

She won't be excited about the spare look of the NAD but it would suffice in that department.

@millercarbon, I get what you're saying but I have to narrow down the field somehow. And with a budget of under $2000 and no dealers conveniently close, auditioning is nearly impossible outside of shipping stuff back and forth which is time consuming and possibly expensive.


I can tell you that they sound great with a Classe' Sigma SST pre into a Bryston 9B (both are AV units). But those are not mine to keep and they are too bulky and 'ugly' for the room.

Well, the Bryston sold. So at this moment I’m listening to the 6Ts in a bizarre little system.  Sonos Connect into Classe’ AV preamp into old Onkyo home theatre amp. Amp and pre on bypass. It is 75w into 8 and god-knows-what into 4.

It is certainly a reflection of my lack of audio sophistication but it doesn’t sound bad to me. Bass remains quite good. The main difference I notice is that the midrange seems thinner and less lush.

So far just listening at modest volume and the amp isn’t ‘hot’.

This will have to suffice until I get off the fence or win the lottery.

George, the amp I was referring to is the Proceed HPA2. It is functioning fine and is in my primary system with an AR tube pre and Areial Acoustics 7B speakers. I'm keeping all of that as long as it keeps running.

The 6Ts are for a secondary system in my living room, primarily casual listening. The reason I'm looking for an integrated with DAC is that it all needs to be as small and discrete as possible to make my wife happy and integrate with Sonos Connect (so coax or optical-in are important).

I'm good with the not blowing up part. That's a feature that I find reassuring. ;-)

Also, from what I am able to understand from this thread is that since I am not likely to ever use more than 50% volume and usually around 30% I should not be taxing the amp to any degree.

The Onkyo does not get any warmer than would be expected at these volumes.

Bottom line: If it sounds worse than the Onkyo then it goes back to Sonos at no cost and falls into the live-and-learn category.

I do understand that this amp is beneath the 'dignity' of these speakers.  And it does bother me a little bit.....I don't know why. Kind of like putting Prius tires on a Ferrari. It would still do a lot of what a Ferrari does well....but not what it does best.

And I don't want to sell the speakers. They cost me nothing and one of these days I might find an application for them in which they can be driven properly.