1)I am considering making a pair of new front main speakers. I would like the speakers to compliment our furniture and save some cash at the same time. I have looked at the Thor and Soloist from Madisound. My wife likes the Thor over the Soloist as we were able to listem to them! Looking for some feedback on these kits or some other ideas. My budget is about $1000 to $1200. Need to move from the Bose ASAP.
2)I am using an old Yamaha Receiver with a old Phase Linear 400 power amp ( 200 Wats/Ch.). I will also upgrade to a 1050 but am not sure if the pre-amp section is clean enough. If not then I will need to plan on the 950 at some point.

Thanks for your help.