Martin Logan speakers for me. Krell electronics. Don't mean to sound like a snobbish dweeb, but I am kinda jaded.

Buy whatever floats your boat and keeps you happy. There's no point in buying a pair of $1,500 speaker cables when you "can't hear the difference."

That AV 700 is a sweet deal. 600$ off, and those are like top of the line.

Did you see the deal they had on power amps? You could buy four PA-4000's for what he is talking about spending on the b/o, and still have a two grand left over. Be a killer looking stack of amps, and you spend the extra two grand on speakers, too:

http://www.harmanaudio.com/search_browse/default.asp?sp=S&cat=AMP&market=HOM

Placo 1, in the late 70's, I owned a pair of 901. As I recalled, they were rather inefficient back then, meaning they need more amp power to drive them. I don't think the design of 901 has changed much since then, therefore, I would suggest you to get the most powerful receiver your budget allows. Otherwise, your receiver may"clip" when you you play any source that demands power, especially in some video program that has a lot of bass. Regular clipping can damage your speakers not to mention your amp.

Hey Kuan, I agree with almost all of your points, although I'd have to disagree somewhat with this one. Depending on the speaker, this issue can be very important. Like Klipschorns for example. One of the best, even by today's standards and they were designed specifically to sit in the corner of a room to give a proper bass response. The folded cabinet/open back design for the woofer requires the walls to properly reproduce the bass.

On the receiver question - there are too many options to post. Your budget is a big factor as are the other components in the chain. The 901s sound a heck of a lot better than their unimpressive smaller brothers (I own some 201s and have owned 401s). If you're trying to incorporate the 901s into a surround system, it may be tricky - they weren't really designed to be part of a multi-channel system. Just MHO...

Our TV room/kitchen is about 25’ deep by about 35’ wide with a 16’ ceiling. The “back” of the room is about 50% glass. The kitchen is off to one side. Makes for a lot of reflected sound. Plus due to a combination of other furniture and a hallway the speakers are about 20’ apart

Do you think the 3.6es are okay for this space?

Ian, have you compared the MLs to the Maggeys? Do the MLs have any weather-related changes in behavior?

Me too! Me too! I want to be a jaded, snobbish dweeb!

I guess I'll never really be a true audiophile if I keep buying my components at the drug store!

i do all my shopping at the LIQUOR store!

my cheap stero sounds great, and i dont give a ***** what anybody thinks. :p



PS- i spent a year in new orleans on a project, you can buy liquor at the drug and grocery store, and can can buy margeritas and other frozen drinks from drive-thru (YES, i said DRIVE-THRU) stands. wed special was 1/2 gal froz daqauri for $8.95 :eek:

Not if you keep big chunks of furniture in between speakers. Other than that I would think that it would be enough space for those speakers to work their magic. You're gonna need juice. Don't let them tell you these speakers don't need power. You're gonna wanna get some power. I'd say at least 200 watts per channel, good watts, clean watts.

Most of my home entertainment stuff, except for video/DVD, originated as thrift-store bargains. I use a pair of '70s Marantz receivers, a '60s Dual automatic LP changer, assorted AR speakers and open-reels, including Ampex and Revox. I also have a couple of Fisher tube receivers and a $2 'church bazaar' McIntosh amp. As for my B&O experience, my first stereo receiver was an early '60s B&O tube unit. Yard sale - $6! Sounded great except for occasional problems with dirty tube sockets.

I've always liked B&O styling but not their retail prices. Thanks to Salvation Army and Goodwill stores I've been able to experience newer B&O products at Chinese Walkman prices. Got a Beocenter 2200 at the local Goodwill for $10. One of those units with the turntable, receiver and cassette deck combined in a long sleek designer case.
Looks great, sounds OK (with old pair of AR-4x speakers). Cassette deck needs work. Internally appears to be mostly Japanese components. Not bad but glad I didn't pay the $1500 or whatever these things cost back around 1980!
I'm really happy with the $13 Beogram turntable I got for my parents audio cabinet.
With 2 VCRs, DVD, Technics Reciever and cassette deck, there was just enough room for a very slim turntable on the pull-out tray and the B&O fits perfectly. And some of their 'worn-out' LPs that seemed hopeless actually play OK on the B&O, well enough to transfer to tape.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Magnepans rock. If you haven't heard them, they are amazing. For those of you unfamiliar with them, they are built like a large sheet of mylar. The front and rear of them have a magnetic hollow plate that drives the sheet back and worth. Martin Logans are somewhat similar I think. However these speakers take up a lot of floor space to sound right. They are not small room speakers.

If you can't afford one of these, take a look at B&W, Kef, M&K or some of the other exotic speakers out there. Lots to choose from.

Spend the money on a good set of speakers. Then you can buy some well built amps/pre-amps like Hafler, PS Audio, Creek, NAD, Old MAC or a dozen others.

Buying a newer HK, Denon, Onkyo, Rotel will still get you good decent sound at much less money.

If you want to impress that girl you just p/u at the bar, you can waste your money on B&O.

Don't forget Thiel speakers! Over ten years ago, we were shopping for another set of speakers in addition to the large KEF we had. We wanted to audition the Martin Logan so the salesman switched on the speakers. A beautiful sound came out from the front and we were really impressed with it. Suddenly, the salesman apologized that he had the different speakers playing and switched to Martin Logan. The sound from ML was no where near the Thiel he played earlier, model C2.2 That's how we bought the Thiel speakers. I have to admit prior to this, I have never heard Thiel. After some research, I learned that Thiel is a small high-end speaker maker, located in Kentucky, market to a few selected dealers. After 12 years, they still sound as good as any speakers I have heard, past or present.

Thiels are awesome. They're right up there on my favorite speaker list.

I like Maggies first of course. Then Dynaudios, Meadowlark, (especially the Herons) Thiels, Hales, Paradigms, Vandersteens, Apogees.

I also like the ML's at first listen. I first heard the SL3's but then off axis listening wasn't that great and I really didn't think the transitional range between electrostatic and traditional woofer was as seamless as they said it was. They just didn't work in my room. Basically because I couldn't find a spot which worked for both panels and woofer. The highs would sound sweet but bass would be weak, or highs would be bouncing allover the room but the bass would be nice and tight.