Thinking of going back to Phantoms :)

[Jean-Marie]

2) I never really played above 70 - usually more like 60. How close are the little reactors to the gold sound wise if I don’t need the extra power?

Question 2 is a fascinating Q:
I hope you get some feedback on that one.

I own a pair of Golds.  Had an opportunity to compare a pair of Reactor 900s with a pair of Golds at a retailer.  Golds were on Tree stands, Reactor 900s on low cabinet, closer together; tried to compensate for this during listening tests. Used Bluetooth with music from my tablet  for both, even though it was not the best connection method. 

In comparison, the Reactor 900 had a smaller sound stage, slightly less detail, lost a bit in the mids and high end and a little bass heavy.  Maybe it had lower resolution of individual instruments, but this could be due to my bias towards the Golds in my own setup.

Spent the last part of the time solely on the Reactor 900s, not listening for differences but listening to the music. The Reactor 900 had excellent sound and a large sound stage in a small box. Not many other systems can match the Reactor 900s for its very clean and detailed sound. 

On paper, there was a big gap between the Reactor 900 which had only 900W, with a maximum sound level of 98 dB SPL at 1 meter.  The Gold was rated at 4,500W, 108 db.  Gold also had a titanium tweeter. In practice, the gap between the Reactor 900s and Golds is smaller. I could easily live with the Reactor 900s.

You have to know that 70 on a Phantom is already 0dB attenuation, therefore full power at 0dBFS. 
going above has the effect of potential elliptical compression in case the source plus gain would be above 0dBFS. 

As for high and mids, I would tend to say that the golds are in a different league, but this is certainly not night and day either and as @Snoopy8 I could leave with a pair of Reactors 900 without any frustration. 

This being said, and I’m sorry to add to the uncertainty, but I have also access to a pair of Athom GT1 with a D120 and I can confirm that with SAM, you have a level of bass that you would only expect from a floor stander or a bass sub. 

Jean-Marie