Suggest me between MA RX6 and PSB T6

[mukuntharajaa]

Hello,

I have auditioned quite a few speakers like PSB T6, KEF Q500/700/900, Polk A7, MA RX6, Dali Zensor 7, Paradigm monitor 11, Mordant shaunt. I have already bought Marantz SR 5008 from UK. Its on its way heading to my country India. Out of all, i liked

1) psb t6
2) ma rx6
3) kef q900


Though i liked KEF q900 w.r.t soundstage, clarity, bass as its too big in size and budget it wouldnt fit in my house. So I had to rule out that. I am a lot confused between other two.

PSB T6 costs around 87k INR and MA RX6 costs around 96K INR after discount , bargain , etc etc. But I am little suprised when I compare it with US price. In US, PSB costs more than MA. I have actually auditioned these two in different days different location. So I am not able to compare these two side by side. I am bit confused on these two.

Auditioning room of PSB T6 was not that great or professional. But still it sounded great on original cd coupled with NAD amplifier. But when I asked him to connect to some av receiver, he has connected to Yamaha RXv475, sound was so horrible. Performance went down by 80% i would say. That too he showed some demo using kill bill stunt series. It was tiring my ears. I was totally disappointed with that. He promised me that he is bringing some denon/marantz receivers and he would make the demo room acoustically proper too. So I asked him to give me a call once all are done.

On the other hand, MA RX6 demo room is so professional and close to perfect. He showed me demo using CA stereo amplifier. It sounded very nice. When he connected to some av receiver, performance went down by 20%. Maybe all room acqoustics helped here.

In both these speakers, i like mids, bass and high frequencies. I actually do not like too highs. Which i found in polk , dali speakers. Those sounded harsh when we supply such high treble contents. But not psb and rx6.

By looking at the price, I am kind of leaning towards PSB T6 as its bit cheaper. But by the way, demo was shown to MA RX6, i am confused whether i should go for rx6.

If someone had chance to audition both side by side please let me know, which one is better.

Thanks

 

[mowgli80]

I have not heard PSB but I have the RX6 (for sale ... check the sale thread if interested) and can heartily recommend it. Don't be tempted by the bigger brother RX8 though as the sound with extra bass is not as good as the finely balanced sound from RX6.

 

[ghatgepatil]

Why not take YOUR AVR to the auditions? Where are you based?

 

[mukuntharajaa]

Thanks for your reply...


@ghatgepatil
I am from bangalore. I have bought Marantz receiver in UK. It has yet to reach me. It would take another 3-4 weeks. As you said, I have planned to take my AVR and audition directly. I was thinking to get some better idea before doing that. So that I look for some key points while auditioning with my AVR.

@mowgli80
At what price you bought RX6 and for how many years you are using it with which AVR ?

 

[jaivelu]

I found this listing in eBay.in by the Avenue Sound. The Monitor Audio RX 6 is priced at Rs. 85K. So, I thought it may help you a bit.

Brand New Monitor Audio RX6 (pair) | eBay

 

[jagdish_p]

How do you like your music? I am not an audiophile nor do I own any of the speakers. But from what I remember from my auditions I think PSB has better bass then Rx 6 . Rx 6 scores in clarity.
Request other FMs to add to the above / contradict if they feel other wise

 

[ghatgepatil]

http://www.hifivision.com/sale-owner/48358-monitor-audio-5-0-rx6-rxcx-bxfx.html

If the above is still available, just pick it up. Marantz AVR's are a very good match for MA series speakers. This is too good a deal!

 

[mowgli80]

@mukuntharajaa - Ghatgepatil has posted the link to my ad. The price is inclusive of shipping at my risk. I am using it with Sugden Mystro Amplifier for stereo and Marantz SR5005 for HT.

 

[mukuntharajaa]

@mukuntharajaa - Ghatgepatil has posted the link to my ad. The price is inclusive of shipping at my risk. I am using it with Sugden Mystro Amplifier for stereo and Marantz SR5005 for HT.

Oops. I do not have plan of buying a full HT. Space issue is there till i move to new house. But that wont happen any soon. Thats why i m going just for front tower speakers . Where are you located ?

 

[mowgli80]

Am located in Hyderabad. I can sell just the towers as well as I have few FMs who contacted me for just the center and surrounds. I was holding up as the entire 5.0 as cumulative price difference will be more lucrative to a prospective buyer.

 

[Nikhil]

Both are good speakers. But accompanying electronics is important.
The PSB T6 will excel with plenty of power (in my opinion).
The MA RX6 is easier to drive and will go with more gear.

Wait for your Marantz amp to arrive and demo before you buy (if you can).
If you're going blind - go with the MA RX6.

The PSB is a much harder speaker to drive and that is why you observed the drop in quality with the different amps. With anything less than 100W/ch you will get bloated bass although mids and highs will still be decent. Put an amp with some grunt and the PSB will transform into a great speaker.

 

[mowgli80]

Agree with Nikhil ... RX6 are easy to drive, am able to play mine at reasonable levels with my 3.5W SET amp with volume knob at 1'o clock position .

 

[mukuntharajaa]

How do you like your music? I am not an audiophile nor do I own any of the speakers. But from what I remember from my auditions I think PSB has better bass then Rx 6 . Rx 6 scores in clarity.
Request other FMs to add to the above / contradict if they feel other wise

I am mainly looking for clear highs and mids. Sufficient bass is enough for me. When i auditioned both had enough bass of my like. My only concern is highs should not be colored.

 

[mukuntharajaa]

Both are good speakers. But accompanying electronics is important.
The PSB T6 will excel with plenty of power (in my opinion).
The MA RX6 is easier to drive and will go with more gear.

Wait for your Marantz amp to arrive and demo before you buy (if you can).
If you're going blind - go with the MA RX6.

The PSB is a much harder speaker to drive and that is why you observed the drop in quality with the different amps. With anything less than 100W/ch you will get bloated bass although mids and highs will still be decent. Put an amp with some grunt and the PSB will transform into a great speaker.

Thanks Nikhil . Thats quite a lot info. But please clarify me. I pulled out specs of both psb and marantz

Marantz specification:

number of poweramps 7
Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 1% 1ch Drive) 180 W
Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 0.7% 2ch Drive) 140 W
Power Output (8 ohm, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 0.08% 2ch Drive) 100 W
70% Guarantee o


PSB specification:
-------------------

Impedance:
Nominal 8 Ohms
Minimum 4 Ohms

Recomended power:
20 - 200 W power


MA RX6 specification:
----------------------

Impedance:
Nominal 6 ohms

Recommended amplification: 40125W RMS


Here nominal impedance looks higher in PSB. But how come its able to drive till 200w and MA is just upto 125W ? Am i missing something here ?

 

[mukuntharajaa]

And also please let me know guys, is it good idea to use spike buster something like belkin or should i buy something more sophisticated things for connecting all tv, blu ray player, amp, ...

 

[mpw]

if you decide for MA - you may negotiate a bit more for the r6 as MA has launched the new silver series. maybe you can get a good price.

mpw

 

[mukuntharajaa]

Thanks nikhil . Thats quite a lot info. As you said psb requires more power from spec sheet i dont see anything as such Or am i missing something here ?


Marantz spec:
-------------

number of poweramps 7
Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 1% 1ch Drive) 180 W
Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 0.7% 2ch Drive) 140 W
Power Output (8 ohm, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 0.08% 2ch Drive) 100 W

PSB T6 spec:
------------

Impedance:
nominal 8 ohms
Minimum 4 ohms

Recommended:
20 - 200 watts


MA RX6 spec:
-------------
Impedance:
Nominal 6 ohms

Recommended:
40-125 W RMS

 

[mukuntharajaa]

if you decide for MA - you may negotiate a bit more for the r6 as MA has launched the new silver series. maybe you can get a good price.

mpw

That dealer also said the same. But as new speakers would be sold for around 1.26 Lakhs , he is demanding that this would be the last chance to grab these. And also he said Retail price is 1.06 lakhs and he can give for 96 thousands

 

[mowgli80]

You can wait for few months. Once the new silvers start shipping, the old stock should come down in price. However, there is also a possibility that price goes up as the new silvers are significantly more expensive and priced way above the psychological 1L mark. On a different note, I like the prefer the look of RX6 over the new silvers. The new mid bass driver does not look as good as the old one with the silver cone thing in the center (dunno what its called).

 

[jagdish_p]

Thanks Nikhil . Thats quite a lot info. But please clarify me. I pulled out specs of both psb and marantz

Marantz specification:

number of poweramps 7
Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 1% 1ch Drive) 180 W
Power Output (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 0.7% 2ch Drive) 140 W
Power Output (8 ohm, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 0.08% 2ch Drive) 100 W
70% Guarantee o


PSB specification:
-------------------


Impedance:
Nominal 8 Ohms
Minimum 4 Ohms

Recomended power:
20 - 200 W power


MA RX6 specification:
----------------------

Impedance:
Nominal 6 ohms

Recommended amplification: 40125W RMS


Here nominal impedance looks higher in PSB. But how come its able to drive till 200w and MA is just upto 125W ? Am i missing something here ?

The drivability of the speakers is indicated by the specification -Sensitivity measured in dB. It is a measure of the sound level produced per watt of input power at 1 meter distance. Since dB scale is logarithmic scale For every 3 decibel sensitivity difference between the two speakers, you will have to double the amplifier power of the lower speaker to increase the sound level by just 3 dB to match the sound levels.

Edit:Just looked up the specs: the PSB s have 89dB (anechoic) vs 90 dB for RX6 . So not a great difference!