Speakers are SOOOOO subjective! However, i have another friend who is considering a $10,000 budget for a HT (but his budget includes video). Without the video piece, I would recommend going to separates (instead of the receiver I'm going to recommend for my friend), and I would consider higher end speakers from these same manufacturers.
I'm pasting my e-mail on speaker recommendations below:
"I've been thinking about your home theater in your new house, and I wanted to send you a few links to explore with Peggy. We'll get to things like receivers, amplifiers, and cables later. For now, I've gone through the VAST array of speaker companies out there and come up with a few that are highly recommended. You would do very well with ANY of these.
http://www.rocketloudspeakers.com/ This speaker brand is internet-only and is manufactured in China. The higher end models use the Vifa XT tweeter, which is a very expensive component not usually found in modest priced speakers. My nOrh 6.9 mains have the same tweeter, and it is excellent. This line has more traditional or elegant looks.
http://www.axiomaudio.com/ Axiom speakers have an excellent reputation for quality sound. They have a traditional "box" design with appeals to most people. I listened to a pair of M3Ti's and compared them directly to my wood nOrh 4.0 speakers. They were a tad brighter than the nOrh's (which sounded a little more refined), and I found the nOrh's to have a wider dispersion in the sound (so you could get the same experience anywhere on the front couch). Still, for the price, I was extremely impressed with the M3Ti's. They performed well beyond expectations for their price.
http://www.norh.com These are the speakers I ultimately bought. Made in Thailand, with free shipping to the US. These are hand-made. The looks are VERY unusual and not for everyone. My wife thinks they look more like artwork than speakers, she loves the non-traditional look, and the shape and material of the cabinets has a significant impact (for the positive) on the sound. No cabinet resonance to fuzz up loud music or movies, lower distortion, cleaner sound, VERY wide dispersion of sound. nOrh makes these in wood, ceramic, synthetic marble, and real marble. It's tough to find a company that will make you SOLID MARBLE speaker cabinets. If you check the News section of their website, you'll see that they have just introduced a low-power integrated tube amp for $399 (?). Combine this with a CD Player and a pair of nOrh's marble 3.0 speakers, and you'd have an outstanding and romantic bedroom system (VERY high quality) for not too much dough. I personally own the SM 6.9 (green) for main speakers, a pair of wood 4.0's, a black marble 4.0 center channel, and a 4.1 prism for rear center. We should plan an evening for dinner, music, and movies at my place so you can listen to and see the nOrh speakers. If you don't like them, it's OK because there are a number of very good choices out there (mentioned on this page).
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/AscendWeb/FrameSet.htm I have not heard the Ascend Accoustics package, but their CBM-170 speaker is extremely well-regarded and has had very good comparative reviews. These are more traditional, bookshelf-type speakers, and you can get them bundled with the HSU VTF-2 subwoofer. The HSU has very good reputation, but in your 20x40 room, you're going to need more than a single VTF-2. HSU has other products you might consider.
http://www.svsubwoofers.com I own two of their 20-39's. For movies and music, the SV Subwoofer is one of the best deals on the planet. For your room, you'll need a pair of 20-39 CS+ subwoofers and a suitable amp to drive them (probably the Samson S1000). If you don't like the look of the SVS, there are other products available that perform as well. These will give you outstanding performance for the buck (you will blow away $4000-5000 subwoofers with a pair of 20-39 CS+).
http://www.hsuresearch.com The HSU VTF-3 subwoofer is probably what you'd need to order if you went with this company. Very impressive performance for the price. You might need 2 of them for your space (give your room dimensions to HSU, and they can advise).
Well, it's Friday, I'm tired, and I'm headin' home. There are numerous other choices available for speaker / subwoofer combinations, so if you don't see anything you like here, I can get you some more options. ANY of these would make you very happy for $$ spent. By the way, on a $10,000 budget, I think you should be planning about $1500-2000 on speakers, another $1500 for subwoofers and amplification. The rest of the budget you'll need for video, cables, a nice AV receiver, a progressive scan DVD player, etc. Of course, how much you finally spend is up to you. If you want to spend more, you can get better stuff (with these companies), but if you're not careful in what you buy, you can spend $20K and be frustrated with your results."
That's it! Enjoy the hunt. Shopping is all part of the fun. :-)
John G
I'm pasting my e-mail on speaker recommendations below:
"I've been thinking about your home theater in your new house, and I wanted to send you a few links to explore with Peggy. We'll get to things like receivers, amplifiers, and cables later. For now, I've gone through the VAST array of speaker companies out there and come up with a few that are highly recommended. You would do very well with ANY of these.
http://www.rocketloudspeakers.com/ This speaker brand is internet-only and is manufactured in China. The higher end models use the Vifa XT tweeter, which is a very expensive component not usually found in modest priced speakers. My nOrh 6.9 mains have the same tweeter, and it is excellent. This line has more traditional or elegant looks.
http://www.axiomaudio.com/ Axiom speakers have an excellent reputation for quality sound. They have a traditional "box" design with appeals to most people. I listened to a pair of M3Ti's and compared them directly to my wood nOrh 4.0 speakers. They were a tad brighter than the nOrh's (which sounded a little more refined), and I found the nOrh's to have a wider dispersion in the sound (so you could get the same experience anywhere on the front couch). Still, for the price, I was extremely impressed with the M3Ti's. They performed well beyond expectations for their price.
http://www.norh.com These are the speakers I ultimately bought. Made in Thailand, with free shipping to the US. These are hand-made. The looks are VERY unusual and not for everyone. My wife thinks they look more like artwork than speakers, she loves the non-traditional look, and the shape and material of the cabinets has a significant impact (for the positive) on the sound. No cabinet resonance to fuzz up loud music or movies, lower distortion, cleaner sound, VERY wide dispersion of sound. nOrh makes these in wood, ceramic, synthetic marble, and real marble. It's tough to find a company that will make you SOLID MARBLE speaker cabinets. If you check the News section of their website, you'll see that they have just introduced a low-power integrated tube amp for $399 (?). Combine this with a CD Player and a pair of nOrh's marble 3.0 speakers, and you'd have an outstanding and romantic bedroom system (VERY high quality) for not too much dough. I personally own the SM 6.9 (green) for main speakers, a pair of wood 4.0's, a black marble 4.0 center channel, and a 4.1 prism for rear center. We should plan an evening for dinner, music, and movies at my place so you can listen to and see the nOrh speakers. If you don't like them, it's OK because there are a number of very good choices out there (mentioned on this page).
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/AscendWeb/FrameSet.htm I have not heard the Ascend Accoustics package, but their CBM-170 speaker is extremely well-regarded and has had very good comparative reviews. These are more traditional, bookshelf-type speakers, and you can get them bundled with the HSU VTF-2 subwoofer. The HSU has very good reputation, but in your 20x40 room, you're going to need more than a single VTF-2. HSU has other products you might consider.
http://www.svsubwoofers.com I own two of their 20-39's. For movies and music, the SV Subwoofer is one of the best deals on the planet. For your room, you'll need a pair of 20-39 CS+ subwoofers and a suitable amp to drive them (probably the Samson S1000). If you don't like the look of the SVS, there are other products available that perform as well. These will give you outstanding performance for the buck (you will blow away $4000-5000 subwoofers with a pair of 20-39 CS+).
http://www.hsuresearch.com The HSU VTF-3 subwoofer is probably what you'd need to order if you went with this company. Very impressive performance for the price. You might need 2 of them for your space (give your room dimensions to HSU, and they can advise).
Well, it's Friday, I'm tired, and I'm headin' home. There are numerous other choices available for speaker / subwoofer combinations, so if you don't see anything you like here, I can get you some more options. ANY of these would make you very happy for $$ spent. By the way, on a $10,000 budget, I think you should be planning about $1500-2000 on speakers, another $1500 for subwoofers and amplification. The rest of the budget you'll need for video, cables, a nice AV receiver, a progressive scan DVD player, etc. Of course, how much you finally spend is up to you. If you want to spend more, you can get better stuff (with these companies), but if you're not careful in what you buy, you can spend $20K and be frustrated with your results."
That's it! Enjoy the hunt. Shopping is all part of the fun. :-)
John G