so many choices, yet so little to demo

>> Any system combining HT and music duties must be configured to optimize one or the other...<<

I tend to disagree with this line of thinking. Good sound is good sound, period. If a system sounds good for either stereo or HT, it should sound good no matter what. It used to be that one could skimp on the surround and surround back channels because the information being reproduced was of the "ambience" type, crowd noises and such.

That is no longer true with well-mastered modern surround mixes for music. The single most important quality for a surround sound setup is that the speakers have the same or similar timbre or "voicing". This allows for a more coherent and seamless soundfield when the music is panned from left to right and front to back.

Having the same speakers at all positions, except for subwoofer of course, gives you this matching timbre.

And I can promise the original poster (OP) that the all-Gallo system recommended will meet this criteria perfectly. For the money invested it is a very good setup for both home theater and stereo.

I would recommend such an approach to start. If the OP wishes to maximize his stereo listening quality he could trade up to the larger Gallo Classico 3s or 4s later on as the budget allows. And this would still maintain the all-important matching timbre requirement...

-RW-

The very fact that the L+R speakers should closely flank the screen for the best HT performance prohibits their ability to image correctly for two channel audio. Not to mention that the screen is probably close to the wall, and the speakers should be several feet into the room for best audio performance.

Yeah, it might sound pretty good for both situations. But only one can be ideal.

I stand by that.

Shakey

Yes, it's true that it can be setup "ideal" for one type of use. But the fact that the OP is working with a $2500 budget would seem to indicate that he is not one who is willing to spend $50,000+ to obtain the "absolute sound".

Too many folks on these type of fora seem to have blinders on when it comes to what is acceptable sound quality for most folks. The fact of the matter is that speakers, electronics, and sources today are worlds better than what was available back in the 70s and 80s.

And it is quite possible to assemble a very credible system for both stereo and HT without spending crazy money....

-RW-

Good conversation overall. Sometimes I wish Audiogon had a "like" button" for certain comments.

I'll say that the way that civilians might solve this would be by buying online with a return policy - that way you can have them in your home, even at the same time, for comparison.

I also have loved the Gallo for what they are and do, so a worthy choice. Also, I've not heard them, but the brand that has been promoted for this purpose is Aperion. Many reviews out there...

Shakey - speaking purely for myself, my mains are quite distant from my screen, mainly because I made the assumption that anything that 'needed' to sound like it was coming from a central position would come from the center channel, which is in the middle. Maybe naive, but it seems to work for me. In fact, sometimes I wonder if the 'mains' aren't borderline-redundant with so much happening from the center, but I also remember the system pre-center-channel, and the mains were pretty good at making up for there being no center.