shopping and need advice

Thanks! I have researched your responses and based on my findings I am going to check out the PSB T65 and T6. I think either of those will deliver the bass punch I am looking for as well as delivering a good stage in general. I have owned Klipsch before and didn't care for them and need a bigger sound than the totem and LX-10s deliver, a buddy has a modded set. Any more ideas? Keep it coming!

I thought the T5s were very good for the price.The T6s should be a step further.

I noticed a place online called Oasis Audio and Video in Latham. They don't appear to have a website. They sell Grado cans is all I know. There's also a very interesting place called Audio Classics Ltd which carries a lot of new and tons of used gear. I've never seen a place quuite like it in fact. They carry loads of used McIntosh gear. I noticed used Conrad Johnson, Rogue, various Klpisch speakers.....all used. If anything, that place looks like it would be a lot of fun to visit. They have a live web cam in their listening room which is kind of strange.

Hi Donjr............Oasis Audio is out of business. Audio Classics is in the Binghamton area, a few hours southwest of Albany. Unfortunately, Albany does not have any high end audio stores. We used to have some great places here (Altair Audio and Mom's Stereo), but they're also gone. Hippo's in Stuyvesant Plaza is a really nice shop, but it's more focused on home theater (although they do carry Rotel, McIntosh, B & W, Marantz and a few other "audio only" lines.) Towne TV in Rotterdam carries Paradigm and Denon.

I've been living in the Albany area since 1985, and it's hard to believe that we can't support a high end audio store up here. My Vandersteens came from Altair Audio (back in 1997), my Rotel CD deck is from Hippo's, my amp is from Audio Connections (down in Jersey), and my turntable is from Signature Sound (a great little place outside of Syracuse....check out his website.) So, right now, it's slim pickings for hands-on audio shopping here in the Capital District. Good Luck, and Happy Listening.

Ya, that is the major issue I am facing. I am not so flush that I can afford to just buy speakers by mail just to check them out. I would love to put my ears on some, but that is looking less and less of an option. So, business opportunity for someone. It might be better to land someplace like Saratoga Springs where there is a concentration of disposable income. Come on, someone open a shop!!!