SLL,

Nice choice! I think I would consider those a *slight* step up from the last set of speakers! (Did the one pair cost more than the ENTIRE system it is replacing?) Vienna is a very reputable company, and makes very high quality products. From the pictures, it looks like they use a Scan Speak tweeter (9300, 9500, or 9700), all of which are phenominal tweeters. They also happen to be fairly rugged. I have no idea what the durability of their mids and woofers is, but I'm assuming it's got to be pretty good. They use "shallow" crossover slopes, which puts rather high demands on the drivers to begin with, so I'm sure they have accounted for that. They don't seem like a company that cuts corners.

I assume at some point you'll be getting the complete HT system? I'll be very interested to hear you thoughts on the center channel speaker. When (if) you get it, try walking around the room to see how the sound changes, particularly to the sides of the speaker. If I remember correctly, you have a fairly small room. Are there seating positions considerably to one side of the room? The "MTM on it's side" style center channel speaker often has poor horizontal off-axis response, so I'm curious if you notice that with the Beethoven center channel.

Anyway, enjoy the speakers. I'm sure they will be a great match for the your other gear. BTW, I think you are still going to want to run the speakers "small", crossed around 40-60Hz, as you seem to have already discovered. No sense straining your speakers - that's what the sub is for (provided it's up to the task).

Jason