Picking a speakers

I wouldn’t take the Rotel over the McCormack, and the B&K is probably really old.  Personally I’d go with the HT5.  But, and this goes for the preamp too, it really comes down to what sound characteristics you’re looking for and which are most important to you.  Would you like better or fuller tonality, more or less treble info, better imaging, more expanded 3D soundstage, etc.?  The more info you give about your specific preferences the better recommendations you’ll get here.  Be excited — you’re in for a real treat once you get these pieces put in place.  BTW, what are you using for a 2-channel source as that’s critical too. 

I have Egreat A11 Media player. All my music on my network. I wish could compare different pre amps than I could tell you more about what I like more) I never had a chance to listen to high end systems before. I do listen to all kinds of music. Mostly Rock, but I like Blues, Jazz, Electronic. I really like to hear acoustic guitar, trumpet, piano, violin, nice bass guitar stuff.

Ok. What’s your budget range for a preamp and amp, and would you buy new or used? Not at all familiar with your media player, but if it’s a low-budget player that’s something you’d really want to look at upgrading too because it’s also a critical component for 2-channel performance. Decent streamers can be had in the $200 - $400 range, but things get better as you get to around the $1000 price range (of course) and some have serviceable DACs that can hold you over until you can upgrade there too. Innuos, EverSolo, and Cambridge come to mind in that range, and of course there’s the Bluesound Node at a slightly lower price point.

It's similar to Oppo 203 quality. Sadly I just sold my Oppo here on Audiogon. When I'm ready to buy something, it will be used. I have 3 B&W CDM series speakers for sale now. When I sell it, then I can think of buying something.

I agree with the Rotel amps & preamp choices since I'm quite familiar with their units. Although I have several different amp/preamp setups including vacuum tubes I still enjoy the clean sound of the Rotel 1590 Mk II series.

To answer your asking question about speakers .....I like the Sonus Faber Sonetto 3's for about $4k . I actually liked the 3's more than the Sonetto 5"s when I listened to them at the dealer some years ago. The 3's have a very nice balance of sound with midrange detail and no sharp high end since I'm sensitive to listener fatigue.