$8,000 budget--Need help

Wow, your room is nearly double the size of my condo! Filling a space that large is going to be a tall order, especially at that total budget. Perhaps you should look at an efficient and relatively inexpensive speaker line such as Klipsch. Then build the electronics around them and later upgrade your speakers again when finances permit. Barring that perhaps you could use room dividers to make the listening space smaller? I'm sure others will have even better advice, perhaps folks who have very large rooms themselves.

I've given this some thought. Anyone with a living room the size of a New York three bedroom apartment should certainly abondon the idea of a music system and just have a resident orchestra. Much more efficient. No worrying about room acoustics. Seating isn't much of an issue. Certainly volume levels, both soft and loud are automatic.

Yeah. Best solution, just get your own band.

I think that I'd grab a Herron VTSP-1A/166 pre-amp and a pair of Herron M-150 monoblocks off of Audiogon for around $4,000.00 used ($10,000.00 new) and then get the Theil 2.4's for $4,000.00. I can't suggest the Harmonic Precision Caravelle's like I have in a room that big, but the Theil's need that kind of breathing room.

First thing I would do is buy a good carpet.

If I had a room that size and could get a ways away from the speakers and liked to rock and roll (which I do) I'd buy a big pair of Klipschorns (used) a moderately powered tube integrated or tubed CD player and call it good. Keep it simple and try some Paul Speltz anti-cables and spend the rest of the money on music or tuning the room. There are many integrates that would fit the bill as well as CD players. Maybe a modified Jolida with a Creek integrated? If you have more money move up the food chain, the options are unlimited. No, I don't use Klisch speakers but have had them in the past, but I didn't have the room to let them breathe and/or get some distance from the horns. Put em in the corners and rock...or whatever your tastes run to.

Another option (if you are strictly going digital) would be to add a DSP preamp (like a Tact) and a moderately powered tube amp. This way you wouldn't have to spend any money on room treatments.

One other thing that would work with this would be a passive preamp like the Placette with a tube amp and CD player. The possibilities are unlimited, but big speakers in a room that size are a necessity in my opinion. My $.02.