I'm FINALLY finished: new 2-channel system

You're going to love your new system. I went through a similar experience a year ago when I was buying my system. Whether to go with HT or 2-channel. I chose the latter. I felt it was easier to do 2-channel right than HT correctly. I'm very glad I did. To get the kind of sound quality you're looking for with HT, you'd need 5 of those 275's plus a surround processor just to have music coming at you from all directions. It's not worth the extra money, in my opinion, unless you have it to blow. You made the right decision. Say goodbye to your HT and start enjoying your new system.

I'm a firm believer you can accomplish both within the same system. If my system was limited to sitting in a sweet spot and listening to 2 channel only-there is no way I could justify the expense of the gear I have. I know there are the purists that can do this-but when I was limited to just 2 channel it felt like I was listening to the same (well recorded)material over and over. With the home theatre capabilities I can watch sports/movies-and listen to 2 channel. I recently added a plasma(mounted on wall)which opens my center up so my 2 channel stuff images better. This also makes my system easier to share with friends and entertain.

i dropped HT about 3 years ago and have not looked back since. the dts neo32.6 sound formats and pixel counts drove me insane changing over every 4 months. i'm much happier now worrying about vta, vtf and cleaning fluids for vinyl :)

I just replaced my receiver and B&W N804's, HTM 1 and subwoofers with a McIntosh MA 6900 and B&W 803D speakers.

The 2 channel sound is much much better.

Still getting use to watching TV and Movies in 2 channel--it sounds good, the image seems to be comming from the TV, but a center channel seems to do it better.

I get a lot more sound effects using 2 channels though.

If things get hectic I might use the HT Bypass on the MAC with a reciever and center, but my living room area looks a lot better without a center,rear speakers, subwoofers, cables and gear stacked to the ceiling.

You definitely did the right thing. I work around HT systems every day and continue to enjoy my 2-channel tube-based system more w/music and movies. My opinion is that if you get 2 channels tonally right along w/a good video monitor, movie soundtracks simply disappear into the movie. With HT set-ups I am always aware of movie plus sound effects. Way to go.