Recommendations Needed for Systems to Audition

[audioenthusiast33]

I am looking to add a second home theater system (for my finished basement). I currently have a Denon AVR 3300 with Paradigm Studio series speakers (60s, CC, 20s) for my main system, which I have been very happy with. Unfortunately, the dealer that I have used in the past went into chapter 11 and is only doing home theater installs, and not selling components. I am left with Circuit City, HH Greg, and Best Buy (which does have a Magnolia center in the store). There is one other private dealer in the area, but his service is absolutely terrible. I have auditioned everything at CC/HH Gregg/BB and have just not been happy with what I have heard except for Def Tech 7006s with the matching center (I have a pair of the satellites already). However, these speakers are about $1400 (for the center and fronts) and I still don't think they sound as good as my Studio 60s/CC. My budget for a receiver and speakers is about $1500-2000 (could go up some if it is a really outstanding set-up).

My listening will be for both home theater and music, but I anticipate more music oriented listening as my exercise equipment is also in the basement. The room is pretty large (25 ft X 20 ft). Again, this is just recs to audition systems or if anyone has any recs regarding good online suppliers - I know that ultimately my ears have to make the decision. Thanks for any advice.

[bobsticks]

Hey AE33,
Welcome to the forum.
A couple of quick thoughts:
1) Accessories4less is a pretty righteous e-bay outlet for new and refurb receivers. I have known a few people that have been happy with purchases from them. That said, with any online purchase one can expect the relative level of service to lessen.
2) You might check over at the Audiogon forum's classifieds. They are about as risk free as you're going to find and often the same characters that have been posting over there for years are the ones doing the selling.
3) For the amount of money you are willing to spend I would strongly consider the used market, at least for the speakers. You will get a better product for your bucks and used speakers are usually a safe bet.

Good luck and keep us informed...
Cheers

[Mr Peabody]

If I had to buy from the stores you mentioned, I'd probably go with an Onkyo receiver driving Polk speakers.

www.crutchfield.com carries Denon as well as several brands of receivers and their customer service is the best of any place I've bought from on line or other wise. They also give you a 30 return policy. Unfortunately, they don't offer anything for speakers other than your local stores have and I'm not aware of an online store to send you to. Either www.amusicdirect.com or www.acousticsound.com carry Epos and maybe something else that might work.

[Lensman]

If you're happy with Paradigm, but there aren't any dealers near you, you can probably buy their speakers from 6th Avenue Electronics (www.6ave.com). I've never ordered from them, but they are an authorized Paradigm dealer and are the only dealer I've found to sell Paradigm online. You'll probably need to call their 800 number as they appear to offer only a limited selection through their website.