Where should I go next?

put together a home theater set up last fall using polk lsi15 lsic and lsifx i think i got them for around $2250 total new on closeout. also have a bk avr 507 which i purchased before mfg dropped the prices. after the price drop i think there is no question that the ref 50/200.7 is the best bang for the buck in ht. i think you should be able to get them both for less than 4k new. as for subs, svs and hsu are very popular, i have an earthquake mk1v 15 that i am very happy with. i think that this is a great set up for ht.
that being said, i'm not so happy with the system for music. a large part of my problem is because of limitations on front speaker placement due to the size of the rear projection tv and entertainment center and sidewall sofa. i think that with proper placement the polks can be great for music too.
i'm currently putting together my first 2 channel music system in another room, and finding that is much more difficult than ht. the synergy between components is alot more important vs. ht. i would demo whatever lines interest you with music as the #1 priority. also, figure out if you prefer dipole/bipole or mono surrounds as alot of manufacturers do not make dipole/bipoles. some manufacturers that i consider to make music 1st speakers are aerial, vandersteen, vienna acoustics, thiel , and tyler. aerial in particular seems to have alot of choices.
i don't know if it is economically feasable to use tubes for home theater although i love them, and if music is first priority you may want to consider subs more musical subs than the ones i mentioned above. many manufaturers make subs that blend very well with their own speakers.
hope this helps i'm rambling.

aloha keith

I know this much: I do not like bright speakers, or any that sound too analytical or cool. I like warmth and smoothness above all, and of course a wide, deep soundstage, but i guess we can't have it all. Or can we?

PS - Anybody have any ideas either positive or negative on Aragon separates? Plinius Odeon? anything else that you feel is important to a good setup, either 2-ch or multi-ch let me know.

Thanks, guys. Help is appreciated.
jonb

One "first" step is to decide what kind of sound you like. Electrostatic/Ribbon speakers (Maggies, Quads, Martin Logan, etc.)sound quite different than horns (Klipsch, etc), which are quite different than cone speakers (which themself can be warm, laidback, bright, etc.) Deciding which camp you are in can help you decide on your mains, and then it all falls into place from there.

In this price range, I wouldn't buy anything that I hadn't heard in my room first. It can sound quite different than at the dealer's showroom. The process should be fun!

John

I will of course have to make a trade - off...I love music and movies equally, but if push were to come to shove, I would like the full immersion that a multi-channel setup gives me. In regards to the wallet issue - there's never enough no matter how ya put it. I'm basically going to do what i can when I can. I do want to have a multi-zone setup, but for now i am just going to concentrate on the theatre setup, and one that allows me to listen to stereo recordings off of CD and LP. I am a DJ, and thus have at my immediate disposal a few Technics Direct-Drive tables...admittedly not audiphile-quality, but paired with an Ortofon cartridge, pretty good for what they are. I do want 7 channels for the HT setup, but am not overly concerned with power - i think 125-200 wpc would be all that i would need.
In regards to speakers, I have auditioned Monitor Audio's Gold Reference (60s, 20s, 10s, FX, and Centre) and I do love their FB212 sub. I have also demoed Martin Logans (beautiful, maybe a bit airy and analytical), B&W (various, both with and without the Nautilus tweeters), Genelec, Infinity (Intermezzo & Prelude), Polk Lsi's, etc. I have heard many good things about Dynaudio, Paradigm, Aerial (a good friend has a Levinson / Aerial 2-ch system), Revel, and on up the line- I do think that $10000 is about all i can spend for my speaker package, not including subs. Thus Wilson is out of my range unfortunately.
THe room is relatively regular - sized, about 18' x 22', with vaulted ceilings, and the room is carpeted. I have plenty of furniture space, as i built my own rack and TV stand - the rack can hold pre/prs, amp, DVD and CD transports, and allows for easy cable separation and mamagement. The TV stand has openings where i can store amplifiers, power centers, you name it. I know jack about rooom treatments.

Any suggestions for speakers, front end (multichannel but still very good stereo), cables? I have a trasparent cable and it is decent, even with the SOny, but I do know a man in NC that will make any kind of cable i need with DHLabs cables and Cardas connectors.

HELP! Feedback!
Jon

Well there are so many ways to go and they all cost money. I have way over 100k in 2ch and hidef equipment. While I haven't bought much in the last few mos.some of my pieces are old.and some new. To me buying equ.is also a learning process. You have to learn what floats your boat. Just listening to somebody else's system isn't the same as living with it.---I'm not saying this because I think that it's a fact, but your boat might not float; listening to my stuff. (I have no sub) To me, the addiction is too the music. I also have an addiction to "sounds" that occur in movies. I remember taking our kids to the Burbank airport to hear the jets taking off. So down to the nitty gritty; how much do ya' wanna spend ????--- Do you want to concentrate on 2ch or ht?--or both? I wasn't exactly sure but maybe both?? There are many entry level systems that will give you much, much, pleasure. One could pay near 5k for a Denon receiver---but you get all your amps with the package. Just adding some decent speakers would be pretty nice. For these 5 speakers?--Well there are so many choices. Rather than "box-HT" speakers I say buy something like Aerial,Revel---where in you can buy closer to the top of the line for the fronts--then further down for the matching rears, and their center. Somewhere in this odyessey one might want to get a quality 2ch amp and preamp,and a dedicated cd plater. You would be able to use the 2ch parts as part of the ht. 'fronts'. Again, how large is your passion? How large is your wallet?--- Heck how large is your house? Different rooms?-- Not necessarlly last but DON"T forget the room treatment.