Video Asylum: REVIEW: Golden Theater GTX-1 Preamplifier (HT) by John Kotches

I've owned this piece for about 7 months, and at the time of purchase compared it against the Acurus ACT-3, Sony TA-E9000ES, B&K Ref 20, Chiro C-802 and the Sherwood/Newcastle AVP-9080. I also did comparisons against
the next level of components (at the US$3K price point) -- notable the
Classe SSP-25, Theta CasaNova, and the EAD Encore.

Starting with the build quality -- it isn't the most aesthetically pleasing piece out there. It's fairly utilitarian in appearance. It's the back
panel construction that blows you away. The binding posts look like they're made by Cardas -- beautiful, with a nice weight and solid when
connecting up your interconnects to them. The distance between jacks allows even the beefiest of interconnects to fit in easily.

There are plenty of inputs for most applications, 9 to be exact -- Four have coaxial digital inputs. In addition, there are two optical (TOSLink)
inputs. Two analog and one digital tape loops are available. The unit
is capable of decoding 24bit/96KHz inputs, which are tough to find right
now.

When I originally received the unit, it had the v1.3 EEPROMs installed. Sonically speaking the GTX-1 was very good. Old recordings I hadn't played
in a few years had a new life to them. Details I hadn't realized were there started appearing. The clincher for this unit for me was its
DTS decoding. So far, it's the best sounding digital reproduction I've
had. On the DVD The Eagles -- "Hell Freezes Over", each voice is blended
perfectly, yet still retains its individuality. The differences between
the guitars (and players) is much more obvious than on the CD. I recently
picked up Moody Blues' "Days of Future Passed" -- and am reminded how
clean, clear and accurate the GTX-1s sonics are.

As good as this is with Home Theater (and it's very good) I'm also pleased
with its stereo performance. CDs that I haven't listed to in ages are
taking on a new joy for me.

The EEPROMs were upgraded to v2.0 in August. Finally, the user interface
has improved. Now, the interface is adequate where before it was barely
acceptable. A user selectable crossover point was added, whereas before
it was a fixed 100 Hz. The terrible calibration procedure (once for
Pro-Logic, once for DD/DTS) has been replaced with a single calibration.
As a bonus, the sound got just a bit better. Even better definition,
and accuracy!

Quibbles:
The user interface still needs improvement. It would be nice to be able
to select the crossover point by speaker. For the fronts you
could use a lower crossover point (ie 40 Hz) and for the center and surrounds a higher crossover point (like 100 Hz). Remote codes aren't
available -- and discrete access to the various pro-logic modes isn't
in the chipsets capability.

The manual isn't written in sparkling English, and requires re-reading
to understand the authors meaning in a few places.

If your budget is $2500 or less give this piece a listen -- it should
compare favorably with the others I've listed. To get better, you'll
have to step up to the $3000 or more range.

REVIEW: Golden Theater GTX-1 Preamplifier (HT) Review by John Kotches at Audio Asylum