Getting great stereo sound from multi channel sys.

Option 1 is probably best on a budget.

Option 3 is definitely best IF you buy the RIGHT digital processor. The list is short - I would select a Meridian 861 or G65 or G68, or the excellent Theta Casablanca. The room correction these processors provide clearly trumps any disadvantages in going through an A/D and D/A for your analog sources. In addition, the Meridian "apodizing" reconstruction filters correct most CD problems - your CD's sound like SACD or DVD-A's. As a bonus, these processors include the Trifield algorithm which gives you a very good center channel with stereo sources. Stereo imaging and depth of field using this algorithm is better than ANY two-channel system, regardless of the price tag.

Cdxskier, I'm going to take a step back and take a different approach. First, welcome to the forum! Second, your comments indicate that you don't have any equipment yet so I'm going to assume that you are building a system.

When building a system, the conventional wisdom is to pick your speakers first; then an amp to match well with your speakers. The preamp will often be determined by your source or the "flavor" of sound you prefer.

It is from the perspective of this conventional wisdom that I am curious about your choice of speaker. The side firing woofers might be a source of some difficult acoustic issues in your room if you are trying to truly maximize the sound quality for stereo listening.

Clearly the best HT systems include timbre matched speakers all the way around. However, if multichannel is secondary to stereo, then I recommend finding the best left and right mains you can find within your budget. Spend your money on what is important to you, stereo. With some patience and research, you can fill in the center and surrounds without spending much.

If you have already heard several different speakers and have settled on the Triton Two because of their sound, then great. If not, please listen to a few other speakers if possible before you purchase. Given the MSRP price of $3K for a pair of Triton Twos, I think you should be able to find some excellent speakers for the same money, especially on the used market. Totem, Aerial, Silverline, Thiel, Harbeth, Spendor, PSB and Paradigm are brands who have some products with great performance to price value on the used market.

Finally, if you'd like more help with suggestions, provide some additional info with respect to budget, room dimensions, and source.

"09-06-14: Dcbingaman
Option 1 is probably best on a budget.

Option 3 is definitely best IF you buy the RIGHT digital processor. The list is short - I would select a Meridian 861 or G65 or G68, or the excellent Theta Casablanca. The room correction these processors provide clearly trumps any disadvantages in going through an A/D and D/A for your analog sources."

I don't know if I would agree with that. I had an 800 and an 861, and didn't think that much of them for stereo. For theater, they make very good products, but I feel you can do much better, for much less money. No to go too far off topic, but I feel so much is wasted when you go with a Meridian system. You buy a 20k CD/DVD player and use it just as a transport (and it has a computer CD/DVD drive, no less). From there, the signal goes to a 20k full function HT processor. One again, you bypass the analog stage, and are just using the processor for digital only. The digital signal signal is then sent to the DAC inside the speaker. That's the last place I would want a DAC. (I know the OP is probably not considering Meridian speakers. I mention them just to make a complete example.) Why pay that kind of money for things you are not using? I do agree with you on using a phantom center channel. To me, it sounds better.