Re: Had an op to buy NHT 1.5 speakers for $60.
I used to have the 502 beleive it or not. I sold it maybe 3 months ago. I sold it because I had just gotten an Onkyo TX-DS787 which had loads more futures and more stock power. However I was probably able to get more power from the 502 because of the heat sink design. The 787 had a tunnel heatsink with limited access and the only means of cooling was the fan, which the thermal sensor was bad so I got the thing super cheap, $100 at, you guessed it, a pawn shop. Considering the unit worked and it originally had a price tag in the $700-800 vicinity I thought what the heck, I will trade up. I was able to get more from the 502 because of simple physics, heat rises and if the heat can be disapated with a fan then that can reduce clipping quite a lot, increasing the continuous output.
I also retired the 787 in favor of a higher quality 2 channel system, which I have been very satisfied with. PSB Century 600i's, Carver AV-505 5 channel amp, currently bi-amping speakers, so 160 watts to each speaker, Rotel preamp, Pioneer Elite PD-65 CD player, and Flagship Toshiba player (SD-9000)
I won't get back into surround sound for a while, at least untill the dust settles with HDMI, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, and all the new surround formats to be. I cannot afford to buy into a format anyway, so it is best to just keep myself out untill there is only one standing on the mountain.
I have a friend who is interested in the 600 series as well as the 700 series and Paradigm's studio series. Any insight on any of these, including your own speakers?