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Honestly it depends how much emphasis you put on music playback. Any DVD player, especially some of the better ones like the Denons, Toshibas, and Philips players will play CDs pretty well. However, just due to costs involved and the added complexity of two transports instead of one, a DVD...

I don't doubt that Chris... but I prefer not to take out a mortgage to finance a speaker purchase, even at the current low interest rates! While it's nice to hear some really high-end gear, sometimes it's also good reaffirmation that I didn't do too bad with my setup. Victor

The best setup I've ever experienced was at SF Stereo in Mountain View. Never one to be in the more expensive = better sound camp, I must admit that a pair of Dynaudio Evidence Temptations ($30,000/pr) in an acoustically treated room powered with a Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista kWP preamp...

Don't discount internet subs such as those offered by Adire or ACI either. I have an Adire Rava and find it perfectly fine for both HT and music use. http://adireaudio.com/home_audio/lou...eries/rava.htm It is also IMO more attractive than offerings from Hsu and SVS (save some of their...

You are correct in that you should run your pair of speakers in 2-channel mode on your Pioneer and that your speaker wires should connect to the front L and R terminals of your receiver. Typically dedicated stands are better at providing a stable base for your speakers, but 30" end tables...

Somewhat expensive, but BDI makes, IMO, some of the sleekest and best constructed racks out there: http://www.racksandstands.com/asp/ke...mmand=dosearch Victor

The best setup I've ever expreienced was only a couple of weeks ago at a local hi-fi shop and, thinking about it, I might go listen to it again before components start getting sold off! Never one to be in the more expensive = better sound camp, I must admit that a pair of Dynaudio Evidence...

I'm a Rotel RSX-1055 owner as well and have it powering a 5.1 Ascend Acoustics setup. I am continually amazed by how good my setup sounds and would highly recommend you audition the CBM-170s. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Victor

As SethOakley says, you should only spend what you feel comfortable spending and, in the $300 category, HTIB really is the only option you have to get a decent receiver and 5.1 speaker set. I think the best choice would be to go with the Onkyo HT-S660. New, It's going to run you about $400...

John, This is an excerpt of a post I made for someone trying to assemble a system for around $1500... This is what I feel to be the best system that can be acquired for around $1500: Ascend Acoustics CBM-170s for the front 3 speakers, HTM-200 for the surrounds ($698 + shipping)...

Pat_C, HTIB is typically not the best bang for the buck because they typically do not have the best components for the price and whatever components that they do include are too lacking in connectivity to enable you to use some parts of the system while upgrading other parts. This is what...

Been a Rotel RSX-1055 owner for almost a year now and am extremely pleased with the performance of the unit. As the previous members advised, probably the best thing you can do is just listen to a lot of different speakers mated to the RSX-1055 to see what sounds best to you. Personally, I am...

Well like I always tell people, regardless of how well a speaker is designed, it can't defy physics. You just will not find speakers the size of the Bose Acoustimass satellites that will sound as full as your 80 lb. towers. However, speakers that sound better than the Bose aren't that hard to...

Eugene, I second what Curtis recommended. With a $2000 budget, you have so many potential permutations of speakers and receivers that the best thing you can do is to go listen to a lot of different setups to narrow down what kind of sound you are looking for. Maybe after you've narrowed...

They use to be sold by av123 (the people behind the Onix Rocket loudspeakers). Go to ecoustics.com and search for reviews under Swan Diva. Victor

ChipD, Infinity isn't a bad brand and they have a pretty decent following, though most of the good speakers I am familiar with from them are at a higher price range and of a previous generation. Really the only thing you can really do when you are first starting your search is to hear a...

Rob, I have demoed the two side by side and the Ascends in my opinion are a far superior speaker and well worth the price differential. The Ascends are detailed sounding without sounding bright or harsh (which as you hear more and more speakers is a rare combination) and reproduces music...

James, $300 for the front 3 speakers isn't very much, especially if you want a "fuller" sound. Speakers can't cheat physics and if you want a fuller sound, you will need one with a larger enclosure than your Celestions. The only thing I can recommend even remotely in that price range that I...

Haven't heard the speakers that you mention in your post, so don't know how much input I can give you. Be sure the BIC's match close enough to your old Celestions soundwise so that multichannel music or surround-sound-heavy movie soundtracks don't sound distinctly different when panning from...

As for whether or not it is sufficient for your speakers, I would think so, though I think it wouldn't hurt to use smaller gauge (larger diameter) speaker wires. For example for 1/2 the $60 price of the Monster XP 100' roll, you can easily pick up 100' of 12G speaker wire from Home Depot or...

Monster's XP series of cables are 16G. The XPHP's are 14G. At least that's true of their out-of-walls. Their CL3 series in-wall XPs and XPHPs may be larger in diameter (at least it looks that way).

James::Mc, Ascend Acoustics makes some great speakers for both music and HT. http://ascendacoustics.com/Main/Intro/Firstpage.asp http://ascendacoustics.com/Main/Revi...dReprint.2.pdf http://ascendacoustics.com/Main/Revi...endreprint.pdf They have all the charateristics of a high-end...

It depends on your situation. Direct radiating speakers are best regardless of whether it is a dedicated surround or a bookshelf speaker. While I think in some situations having dipole or bipolar surround speakers (which are what most surround speakers these days seem to be) work, they...

DarrenAlan, I own an Adire Rava sub and find it to work beautifully for both movies and music. It reproduces even the most complicated musical bass lines with great accuracy and I think it has more than enough slam for movie soundtracks in my setup. As I understand it, the Rava has a...

Ajay, Currently, my xover is set at 80Hz. My dB levels for my front 3 are 0dB for my CBM-170 L/R and -3dB for the CMT-340c center because of the increased efficiency of that unit. My Rava is set at +5dB because I like to run it a little "hot." Victor

Jason, If you are using your Onkyo receiver, not sure what the SE would bring to the table. The big selling point of the SE is that it allows you to set it up whereby you use its Linkwitz-Riley crossover to determine what signal from your source goes to your speakers and which goes to the...

Ouch Lew!... I think MLS would be hurt to hear you call his ELT a system that is WELL BELOW audiophile standards. While obviously not in the league of the Onix Refs, ACIs, VMPS, and other wonderful speakers that can be had at comparatively bargain prices, from what I understand, the ELT is a...

I'll chime in my support for Heartland Cables as well. Evenr since I ordered a component video cable from them, I have been very happy with both the surface as well as the quality of Dan's work. Well constructed cables that work well and look boutique without the boutique cable pricing. My...

If the speaker is well designed, it doesn't matter whether it is front ported or sealed... it will sound good. I recommended the NHT SuperZeros because they are very good speakers, independent of size. Of the speaker lines that you mentioned being available locally, I would go listen to the...

What kind of person would volunteer your place without asking? The nerve of the people who frequent these kind of forums! :b