Alejate: No offense, but your wife is the crazy one. That metaphor was awesome! What you said really hit home. Guess I'll have to free up some time this Sunday and do just as you suggested. Only one problem... that hot chocolate idea might not fly here in AZ. It's October and it's still hitting triple digits. I wonder if they'll mind me cracking open an ice cold Fat Tire while I kick back and listen. Hmmm... Wish me luck.

Mike

Here's a recent article from "Home Theater Magazine" that's all about in-wall speakers and their installation:

http://www.hometheatermag.com/custominstallation/1003inwall/

Make sure you listen before you install!!! It's a lot easier to cut the wall than patch it.

Hey, sorry about the metaphor. We in NY have been having nights in the 20-30 F degree levels, so hot chocolate seemed appropriate for here. Yes, have a cold one. Oh, don't audition speakers while drinking alcoholic beverages, you don't know what you might wake up with the next day.

If you're interested in DVD-Audio or SACD multi-channel I'd recommend using the same full size speakers for surround as you use for front. I have B&W 604s for the front and B&W 603s for surrounds. Makes a huge difference when listening to these multi-channel music discs.

[This message has been edited by bonesmalones (edited October 25, 2003).]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned NHT - their older super zero and super one models are available here and there at close-out prices, and all are wall-mountable, and come in gloss white or black. I am a huge fan of NHT speakers - incredibly natural sounding and a great bargain. I don't know about the 7100, but the 1050 drove my super zeros and super ones very nicely - better than other receivers. I am sure that the 7100 can only be better, as NHT speakers always pay you back for purchasing better amplification. If you are willing to spend the money, you could also get the newer NHT 'SB" series which apparently sound slightly better and play way louder than the old ones (and are also available in white or black). You could get a pair of SB3s (highly regarded by stereophile, $600 MSRP), an SC2 center ($400), and four SB2s ($800) for the sides and rears for your budget. Go with the smaller SB1s, order from a retailer who discounts (like onecall), and you could probably also afford a good $500 sub within the same budget - you already have good recommendations for subs.

Brian I agree with you. My entire system is NHT, driven by a 950/770 setup. I absolutely love the setup for both music and HT. I believe the NHT's have great sound and they always seem to get good reviews but I don't think I could reccomend them to someone if they can't listen to them first. My series of speakers have been out of production for a couple of years so a test drive is out of the question unless you live near a dealer that has some older stock. (I live by Crutchfield which has a local retail and outlet store) I have listened to the SB series and they sounded very good so they would be an option. I have never listened to the NHT in-celing speakers so no reccomendation there but I do have Niles in-ceiling speakers that I installed previously and I do like how they sound. My general feeling on most in-ceiling speakers is they may be fine for HT but won't compare to a good bookshelf for multi channel music. My advice to Arizona Mike is to go to those "toy stores" and listen to quality speakers on quality equipment and buy what you like. Demo the speakers using quality components in the store will give a good indication of what to expect when hooked up to the 950. If you like how a set sounds with a receiver chances are you'll love it with the 950/7100.

"In-ceiling" speakers are good (and that's probably being too kind) only for low-level music-in-every-room applications. Not for even semi-serious music or home theatre applications. Do yourself a favour and avoid them.

Luckily our ears/brain combo has a tendency to get used to what we've got. Most of us will tend to grow more accustomed (and fond) of our speakers with time. That's a good thing if for no other reason that it protects the pocket book. This means that there are tons of choices out there for our own "perfect" speakers. If you can audition them in your own home, and you like them initially, you will likely love them more and more over time. If not at home, then in a reasonably good listening room - preferably somewhat similar in size etc. to what you have at home.

In my experience, it's also a pretty safe bet that if you've heard and liked something from a given manufacturer, then you'll probably like the rest of the product line. Names like Energy, Paradigm, Mirage, psb, Polk, and Def Tech come immediately to my mind since I'm familiar with how all of these brands sound. For example I'm almost 100% sure that since I love the little Paradigm Titans that I run in one of my rooms, that I would have no problem stepping up to any Paradigm floor standing model.

Jeff Mackwood

I also recommend against going with in-wall speakers. As noted before, they can make upgrading difficult. A while back I read a thread on another forum (don't remember which) in which someone went through their process of building an HT using B&W's top-of-the-line in wall speakers. It turned into an absolute nightmare for the person trying to get the speakers to sound right. From what I recall, he was never completely satisfied.

Personally, I'm another Outlaw/Rocket guy. I'm running a 950/7100 combo and they power and mate with my Rockets beautifully. I have Package #2 with an extra pair of 150's for 7.1 and couldn't be happier. The package #3 noted above would be great if you can handle some floor standers, if not go for package #5 or ask them to put one together for you consisting of 4-250's and a 200 center. My guess is it would cost the same as package #5. I personally have yet to hear a center that competes with the 200 for under $2000. Of course opinions differ but AFAIK it is that damn good.

I upgraded the audio in my small home theatre this year. I went with the Outlaw Audio Model 950/7100 combo and the M&K 750 MKII THX Select Speaker System. I bought my speakers over the Internet from Downtown Audio for under $2000 and they are great.

M&K Certified THX Speaker Systems
http://www.mksound.com/thx_sys.html

History of M&K
http://www.mksound.com/pdf/ken_and_company/history.pdf

Cheapest place I know for purchasing M&K speakers is Downtown Audio where you can purchase the 750 MKII THX Select Speaker System for under $2000.
http://www.downtownaudio.com/mksound.html

-------------------------------------
750 MKII THX Select Speaker System Reviews

Audio Video Review:
Presence, dynamics and a sense of cohesive accuracy are the core attributes of this AV speaker system. Add a delicate sense of detail, smooth tonality and overall approachability to that equation, and you have a winning set-up. Need lots of oomph and a quality source signal to prove their full potential, though
http://www.extraordinaryav.co.za/M&Ksep2000.htm

Yanman Review:
Speakers are the most subjective of any piece of a Home Theater setup, what one person likes another may hate. The best tip of course is to listen to the speakers first, preferably in your environment, and then make your decision. If you are planning on setting up a THX theater in a room of less then 2000 cubic feet, put the M&K 750THX Select Speaker System at the top of your list, everything else will have a hard time competing. "THX, the audience is listening..."
http://www.yanman.com/HomeTheater/Reviews/Hardware/MK750THX.htm


Good luck with whatever you choose !

Omnimount makes brackets for mounting bookshelf speakers to the ceiling.

http://www.omnimount.com/product.asp?p=54