I have enjoyed reading this thrread. First off, I do not think that combining HT and 2 channel listening can give the best of both worlds. Whatever. I listened to many of these speakers at CES 2005 last month.
1. The advice about you going and listening is the best. Of course, its hard in one city to hear all of this stuff; hence this forum.
2. In general, I would emphasize two channel; I am one of those folks who thinks that if you get great 2 channel speakers then HT makes it along for the ride, while good HT doesnt always translate into great two channel listening. That is a bias.
3. Given that, there are two clear two channel winners listed above; The Silverline Sonata 3s, and the Gallo Reference 3s; Dollar per value; these two speakers represented the better of the bunch mentioned that have heard. The Gallo reference threes might present a more difficult placement task( great but finicky) and may in fact do better with more expensive hardware behind them. This is only an opinion.
4. Vandersteen would NOT be my choice for HT. In DVD playback, they have an unusually recessed sound in direct comparison to the other choices mentioned. Also the soundstage changes as you move in a room in a way that other choices do not. "Sweet spot" is truely that for these speakers.
5. For HT, I actually really like that whole Totem rainmaker series. Quite good. Its actually better for HT than music; opposite of the model performance listed above.
6. Joseph Audio is a no go for me. I have never heard the merlins mentioned above and cannot comment on them.
7. One speaker brand not mentioned would be the Green Mountain Callistos ( used they should get into the budget scene for you). They would work well for HT as well as 2 channel music listening.
Good luck- a great bunch of choices mentioned here.
1. The advice about you going and listening is the best. Of course, its hard in one city to hear all of this stuff; hence this forum.
2. In general, I would emphasize two channel; I am one of those folks who thinks that if you get great 2 channel speakers then HT makes it along for the ride, while good HT doesnt always translate into great two channel listening. That is a bias.
3. Given that, there are two clear two channel winners listed above; The Silverline Sonata 3s, and the Gallo Reference 3s; Dollar per value; these two speakers represented the better of the bunch mentioned that have heard. The Gallo reference threes might present a more difficult placement task( great but finicky) and may in fact do better with more expensive hardware behind them. This is only an opinion.
4. Vandersteen would NOT be my choice for HT. In DVD playback, they have an unusually recessed sound in direct comparison to the other choices mentioned. Also the soundstage changes as you move in a room in a way that other choices do not. "Sweet spot" is truely that for these speakers.
5. For HT, I actually really like that whole Totem rainmaker series. Quite good. Its actually better for HT than music; opposite of the model performance listed above.
6. Joseph Audio is a no go for me. I have never heard the merlins mentioned above and cannot comment on them.
7. One speaker brand not mentioned would be the Green Mountain Callistos ( used they should get into the budget scene for you). They would work well for HT as well as 2 channel music listening.
Good luck- a great bunch of choices mentioned here.