What is your take on Def Tech XTR60's?

Well thank you Robert. That is the kind of reply I was hoping to get. I have a Denon AVR 590 powering it with no pre-amp. Im not well versed in the hooking up of these other components but Im planning on picking up a Marantz AV 7005. The Denon is rated at 75 watts per while the Marantz is 125 watts per. It sounds as if the Denon cant drive the speakers fully. Volume gets cut at about -12 and the speakers sound like they can take a whole lot more, especially considering they are rated to 200 watts.

So the Merlins would be a great upgrade to these speakers per your post. Ill have to put them on the list when Im ready to spend that kind of money..Thanks again Robert for taking the time to educate an up and coming audiophile....

Snakebitten,

I agree that Robert gave you some good advice. There are so many unavoidable cost cutting compromises made with home theater receivers that make it hard for such products to deliver topnotch stereo sound. For example, really good attenuators (volume control) cost a lot of money. A 7.1 receiver has to have a minimum of eight attenuators to the two needed for a stereo device.

How much can attenuators cost? A friend of mine tried to get an Alps RK50 attenuator for a DIY project. The US distributor was willing to drop his price to $800 each if he bought a minimum of 50.

Thanks again for your reply Larryi. with what you wrote do you think the Marantz AV 7005 reciever would be a good choice?

I haven't heard the Marantz receiver. I generally find that Marantz makes decent sounding gear for the money. I have not been that thrilled with anything Denon makes. Their audio gear generally does not sound that good to me, and their video gear is so ergonomically trying (I own a Denon Blu-ray player that drives me crazy).

05-04-12: Snakebitten
Im not too worried about others irrational opinions.

Yet, you asked for people's take on the speaker.Who's to say which opinion is rational and which is not?

Its the honest, non biased opinions from audiophiles with properly tuned ears that Im looking for.

No such thing as an "unbiased" opinion my friend, sad but true. Especially from,as you put it,audiophiles with properly tuned ears.

Thanks for the info on the magazine. Ill look it up and see what their recomendations are.

This is probably the last place to be looking for an "unbiased" opinion.

These are just my "unbiased" opinions on the matter, nothing more!!!!!