I have had this preamp/processor for 15 years and still find no reason to replace it. It has had a home in my theater stack and is currently connected to an OPPO Bluray player. It receives a down converted 5.1 signal at 24/96 and the sound is still terrific. I have not felt a need to update to a modern processor or receiver in the new formats because the sound quality is so good. The 2 channel performance is also top notch.

For the other owners, I have scanned the users manual, remote manual and remote code and made them downloadable from here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vk8ghgeddb4oay8/Golden%20Theater%20GTX-1%20Manual.zip?dl=0

These are now a steal in used gear stores and on Ebay, don't pass one up if you are looking for an inexpensive DAC for 2 channel or a great surround experience when paired with a quality multichannel amp.

Very good sound, clear and detailled with a nice medium, strong and controlled bass (used with the GTA-1 5 channels Amplifier)

Firmware? solo electronics out of business

Had problems with the first set i bought because there was loud hum noise coming from preamp and noisy vibrations on the amplifier. The dealer took them back, gave me a new set, and it worked fine except for some little things: -A disturbing hum persisting. Europe = 220~240 volts 50~60 hertz, does it comes of a bad adaptation of the AC/DC power transformers? -The preamp - sometimes - have difficulties to obey to frontpanel or furnished remote commands (berk...). -And sometimes the Numeric Circuit does also transmit strange unconfortable digital noises while trying to adapt the flow of incoming digital information from the DVD. Maybe an upgrade of the firmware could be benefic... Does someone have the latest firmware or one compatible that works perfectly with the GTX-1, hum?

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B&K Ref 30 (Excellent)

Great sounding. Very transparent.

Imaging could be a bit better

Since the day I purchased the unit, the sub-out hasn't worked :(.. It makes a pop when switching inputs and makes no sound at all. I stuck a multimeter and it seems like there's voltage leaking from the sub-out? Another reviewer mentioned his sub-out popping was cured with a software upgrade? Aside from that, it sounds great.

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Denon a/v stuff, proceed pre

Awesome sound and constuction quality

?

I love my GTX1 and it has been working just fine for me thank you. No problem that some of these guys have had. Seems like they're the kind of guys that would buy a Ferrari for the price of a Honda civic, then complain that the Ferrari needs to much maintainence, so they give it a one out of five stars... gimme a break! That really is a good analogy!

There is simply no preamp unit for stereo and HT use that can match this unit at this price. There just isn't. I looked for 18 months ok? By the way, I'm not just an audiophile, I'm also an Electrical Engineer, so I think I know good design priciple and engineering when I see it! I think this company is really cool for making this $6000 preamp for just $1900 so I have $$ left over for new CDs.

My friend is looking for one now and can't find anyone who will part with theirs. No way... I wouldn't give mine up since I feel it is irreplacible!
I hope Solo come out OK from their reorganization and make this again, so its not just a collectors item.

If you can find one, get it! You can always find someone to work on it if you need to. (The way this is built, any tech can figure things out. If you're an EE you know what I mean.)

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You name it

Clarity, smoothness, acuracy, bass management.

none.

The volume controlability seems perfect; one can jump by 0.5 , 1, or 1.5dB increments. I know of no imperfections in the sound. My first priority is stereo music, but DTS sounds great too for movies.
What I can add to these reviews that is not otherwise clear (in my experience), is that the current units sound way better than the ones from about a year ago even not counting the software change. So, it is clear to me that the average review here would be 5 out of 5 if only the current production units were reviewed. I had borrowed an older unit w/ the old v.1 software, and it was pretty good after ~2weeks break-in. Then I got a new unit and, beyond the software difference, the sound was instantly perfect as far as I can tell. So there seem to have been tweaks to the hardware that improve the sound. I have no reservations about buying this product; I am very happy with it.
If you call Golden Theater, they are much more accessible than if you email them.
Associated Equipment(final cabling in progress):
Monarchy SE-100 delux monoblocks X2, NAD 512 cd player as transport, Toshiba SD3109 DVD transport, Magnepan MMGs X2, Scientific Atlanta Digital TV box for digital cable radio (2 channel AC-3 outputs not too bad), DH Labs speaker cables, using analog cables for digtals (will receive tributaries digital and S-vid. cables soon). DH Labs from pre to power amps will get Transparent Musiclink soon probably for better mid bass. Velodyne CT-150 sub w/ crossover bypassed. Crossover for sub out set to 40 Hz, speakers set to small. Radio shack soundlevel meter to set volume levels. For rear channels (the old leftovers): NAD 314 int. amp (power section only), B&W DM 310 speakers X2, cables not worth mentioning. Center channel is phantom.

Similar Products Used:

none.

An official response to Mr. David Wallis comments:
All of us at Solo Electronics are very surprise to learn Mr. David Wallis' review at audioreview.com.
We attempt to reach Mr. Wallis by email through audioreview.com and we hear no response form him so far. Therefore, an official response to his review is necessary in this case.
First of all, after carefully studied our service record for the past 6 months, we DID NOT receive any GTX-1 return form Mr. Wallis directly. In fact, we NEVER service any of our products 6 or 7 times repeatedly since we establish 10 years ago, and we had only a few GTX-1s repaired in the past 6 months. Besides great product, great customer care is also one of our first priority, we have a written policy that any defective unit return for the same reason twice, will be replaced by a brand new unit.
Second, we do require customer to obtain RMA number for their service. In the GTX-1's Owner's Manual, we provided our phone number and fax number in the "Service" section for contact. Contact us by email from the Golden Theater web site should send back to the sender because of the recent re-construction of the new web site. We still cannot understand how could Mr. Wallis received 6-7services from us and cannot reach us by email??
Third, beside the power amplifier, a ground loop hum can also created by other possibilities, like grounding from the antenna, satellite, cable box, powered subwoofer, electrostatic speakers, etc., and this ground hum can be difficult to eliminate some time. In case there is a ground loop in the system, the grounding difference will create a voltage (which is the hum) and get into the ground of the GTX-1 and confuse the microprocessor's operation. Therefore, the "lock-up", "mind of its own" and "slower remote control response" Mr. Wallis experienced is originated from its system ground problem. Eliminate the "hum" can put the unit back to normal operation.
Fourth, I had contacted our 12 Southern California Golden Theater dealers, it seems to me nobody familiar with the situation and none of their records shown these sales and services. We strongly recommend our potential customers to support their local dealers and their services, it is because in case of situation like this, a product need to be service 6-7 times,(any brand any model), customer can walk in the store and get his "money back", instead of sell it "used" and loosing $100. We are also wondering did Mr. Wallis purchase his unit "used" and the unit was damaged?
Finally, please let me mention we are always here to provide friendly help and give 100% support to our customers. Whoever is the person purchased this questionable unit form Mr. Wallis, if you find out this unit is not working right, don't worry about the "lemon" you just picked up, you are welcome to contact us directly.

Chris Lau
Solo Electronics/ Golden Theater
President

Build and component quality of $5,000+ pre-amps

Not enough people know about it and buy the Acurus instead (Big mistake)

All that needs to be said has been said as far as the phenominal sound, decoding, and stereo imaging this underpriced DD/DTS decoder and preamp produces with grace and ease.

In my search for a pre-amp for use in HT but emphasis on 2-ch stereo (money not an object), I found this to be the best piece of equipment out there. In my opinion it even beat Lexicon (which I was previously biased towards). This unit is handbuilt by a small company which, if they marketed this gem properly could be charging 2 to 3 times the $2000 asking price and still selling just as many. Nice work! Thank you for giving me such a clear and beautiful window on my music.

I was fairly happy with my GTX-1 for the price, but mine was unfortunately in the shop for repairs when Solo decided to close their doors. I am currently AV preampless & understandibly bitter!!!! How is our Chris Lau search going???

variable crossover, quality of DACs, software upgrades

no 6 channel inputs

This unit was replaced as my main controller a few weeks ago. i was instantly impressed with the quality of it DACs. I heard subtleties in 2 channel music that I had missed before. Extremely musical. For adjustability, it's excellent too. Variable crossover controls are so nice to have. I do wish you could adjust all channel with different crossover points though (maybe you can and I haven't figured out how). I haven't spent numerous time with this unit yet, but so far I am extremely please and find it a steal at $2000 and highway robbery at the $1400 I paid for it.

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Sherwood Newcastle AVP-9080, B&K Ref 20, Denon 5700

Ease of use, build quality and features.

Needed more video output.

To all of you audio enthusiast looking for a preamp, let me say that the GTX1 is your best bet out there. You cannot beat this product if you look at the big picture(ie price,sound ,features,ease of use and of course build quality.)I am very glad i bought the GTX1. This preamp has crystal clear dialogue when viewing movies and the soundstage is awesome when playing music.

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SONY, EAD AND ACURUS.