nht vs cerwin vega

You can get a used HK Signature 2.1 110x5 amp for ~ $400 ---- use four channels to passively biamp the 2.5i mains (to get more juice and SPL) and the 5th channel to drive an NHT Audiocenter1 center.

You should still get a powered subwoofer for the dedicated LFE channel. Lots of good choices. For under $300 new, this 10inch Dayton (only $125) gets alot of praise:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=300-632&DID=7

thanks, Ender. i've been looking for a good used amp to power those 2.5's. also i've been wondering what center to use.

The Citation four channel 5.1 100x4 and 7.1 150x4 amps (designed, made, serviced side-by-side Proceed amps) are great too, hugely discounted (selling for less the 1/3 of original $1850 and $2800 retail prices), with under-rated power. Use 3 channels for the 2.5i & AC1, and the 4th to drive a passive sub (ie, NHT 10inch SW2P, 12inch SW3P, or an SVS).

i've been looking for either a 3 or 5 channel amp. 2 or 4 channels to the nht's, 1 for the center, and will use the carver for rear ch. i want 200 or more watts to the mains. i like the way the carver sounds over the amp in the hk avr20II, seems to be a little more on the bright side, which i guess i prefer. i have a klipsch ksw12 for the lows, hooked to sub out, i'm assuming that is the same as the LFE. it is of questionable quality, but i'll live with it for now. so far i have been pricing nad, rotel, adcom, and mac. i like power meters so i can leave 20% of the power in headroom. a reliable clipping indicator would be ok. it seems to me that 2 channels monoed would power the sp better than one channel to the top and 1 to the bottom. mabey that is a topic for a new post.

i want at least 200 wpc, would like 3 channel but not a must, i like power meters ar at least a reliable clipping indicator. i have been looking at adcom, rotel, nad, proton d1200. all used. you can see my price range is limited to around $600. my pre-amp is avr20ii, but will be hk avr230 in the future. will use tfm-15 for rear channels, but i dont think i want any more carver amps. 5 channel would be perfect if i could use 2 ch for each main and 1 for center. power is important to me, the more the better. thanks and happy new year.