Front Stage Advise

Yeah, Elliott’s getting a bit into the weeds here whereas I think you’re looking for more of an overall general sound approach at this point. Before going any further, is this system only for home theater or is 2-channel music also of importance? Also, what sound characteristics and system performance aspects are most important to you? Since you’re asking for amps, does that mean you already have a prepro?  Are you also requiring speakers for surround duty as well or have they been installed as in-walls already?

We are really hoping for a theater quality experience with the audio that is powerful and responsive. Whether it be movies or concert blu-rays we want to have a great experience, not a good one.

Given what you’re looking for I thought of ATC speakers. They make professional speakers frequently used in recording studios and are built to generate clean and powerful sound — just what you want in a movie experience. And Anthem makes home theater electronics with audiophile roots and are a cut above the more mainstream products out there IMHO. And SVS makes great subwoofers with high quality/$ and also offer exceptional customer service. So, given your budget and using these brands, one option would be:

ATC SCM19 Monitors - $4000/pr
ATC C3C Center speaker - $2200
Anthem MRX 1120 A/V Receiver - $3500
SVS PB2000 Subwoofers (2 of them) - $1700/pr
TOTAL - $11,400

If you really want to be blown away with a special movie experience, this system would do it IMHO. In looking around I found a review in “Secrets of Home Theater and HiFi” from this past May that actually used this receiver and speakers (different sub though) so you can read their impressions FWIW. Anyway, just one option for you to consider, and best of luck building your new theater.

The Anthem MRX-1120 is a receiver so it does all amplification as well as all the signal processing in one box, and given that it worked well in the review mentioned previously it may well be all you need.  If you want to go the separate amp route I’d still recommend going with the MRX-1120 and use it to power the surround speakers and a d-sonic M3a-1200-3 three-channel amplifier ($2175) for the more critical front three speakers.  But, frankly, I think you’ll be thrilled with just the 1120, and you can always add a separate amp later if you still feel the need.  Hope this helps.