Speakers for newbie

@Tonyangel - thx for your input? Do you have any suggestions?
You said to stay away from B&W, does that includes also the bookshelf speakers, the 6** line series?

Just because your amp is rated at 8 ohms does not necessarily mean it can't drive a 6 ohm or even a 4 ohm speaker safely--particularly if you're not planning to crank it up to maximum volume. It might be worth contacting Marantz (or a good dealer) directly to inquire whether there is truly threat of damage if you use lower impedance speakers. It might open up your speaker options considerably.

4zoranss,

Man, I'm not trying to give you the impression that I know it all. I don't. All I'm saying is that A/V receivers generally aren't built to cater to two channel listening with full range speakers. Most people get small surround monitors and cross them over at 80hz or higher and let a sub do all of the heavy work, so that the receiver doesn't have to.

I know that weight isn't a very technical yard stick to use to measure an amp's performance, but I've found that when an amp is heavy, it's usually indicative of a good size power supply, which your unit doesn't have.

My only fear for you is that you might wind up with a pair of speakers that really need power to get good sound and any kind of volume out of them. This will have you pushing your amp. What kills speakers usually isn't power, but distortion and distortion is what you get when you push an amp to do something that it wasn't meant to do.

If I was in your shoes, I'd be looking at a set of speakers that present a stable 8 ohm load to the amp. When you look at reviews or tech specs, pay attention to the impedance curves. Some speakers are rated at 8 ohms, but can dip down to around 4 ohms when playing music.

I'd also be looking for something that is fairly efficient, say in the high 80db range.

I really can't recommend anything for you because I've had to stick to small monitors, due to kids and space limitations.

Right now, I'm running Silverline Minuets. They are pretty efficient and don't need much power, but they are SMALL and likely not what you're looking for. Perhaps you might want to look into the Zu Omen line of speakers. They are rated at 98db efficiency and present, I believe, a 12 ohm load.

You can, at times, find factory second Zu speakers on ebay at a good savings.

Of course, all of this is really just for the sake of discussion. The fact of the matter is that no one here can tell you what's going to sound the best in your home.

Quit tearing your hair out and don't treat this as though it's going to be a life altering decision. Stick to the used market and get something that you think you'd like.

As long as you buy smart and stick with quality, selling them won't be a problem.

First, I am a believer that one should fix their sights on a pair of spekaers they love and then get the amp to properly match and drive those speakers.

Unfortunately, you are doing it the other way as you already have the amp.

If your heart is set on B&W, thats OK. The good news is you have a full set of pre-outs on your SR6006 allowing you to add an external power amp to drive whatever pair of speakers you end up getting. A separate amp with a solid 100 wpc of high current power should get the job done with about 90% of the speakers out there, regardless of impedence. A decent amp will cost about $800-$900 new and used for alot less.

So go out and listen to speakers and decide which one sounds best to you. Then drive it with your Marantz and see how they perform. If the Marantz doesn't make them sing to your satisfaction, you have the comfort of knowing you can seamlessly add a power amp to your system.