I agree with cvinfig that the most important step is to find speakers that you like. The most important interaction between speaker and electronics is making the receiver's amps can drive those speakers. The Ascend 340's are reasonably efficient 8-ohm speakers, so the 1070 should handle them fine. Specs on the Alon are a bit harder to come by - the Acarian site is currently under construction, but I did find some specs here . Again, it's an 8-ohm speaker, although it's slightly less efficient than the Ascend 340.