$2000 to spend. Receiver and Speakers. What would you get?

[Punchy]

I'm thinking about the Athena Audition line for speakers and the Yamaha RXV-1400 for the receiver. Any thoughts or ideas for me?

[Beckman]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. You might want to check:

obviously
www.ebay.com

for clearance prices
www.audioadvisor.com

for speakers with flat frequency response
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/index.html

You can put together a lot nicer used stereo than new stereo for $2000.

[Punchy]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. You might want to check:

obviously
www.ebay.com

for clearance prices
www.audioadvisor.com

for speakers with flat frequency response
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/index.html

You can put together a lot nicer used stereo than new stereo for $2000.

Thanks Beckman. Wouldn't you be nervous buying used electronics off of Ebay? I would be. I'm not up on speaker terminology but what's the benefit of a speaker with a flat frequency response? Anybody else have any opinions for me?

[uncooked]

the athena's sound great with yamaha amps.

my only suggestion would be maybe to go with seperates by athena. like some asf1's for the front asc1 for centre and some asb1's for the rears. its not a heck of alot more money when you consider what your getting. and if you listen to it all you will see how good it sounds.

[chimera128]

Whatever you get.. just remember that you can buy them for around 20% off or more at any reputable dealer. I got my DefTech BP10Bs for $660 (34% off) and most of my other speakers for at least 20% off. You might also want to audition demos or clearanced items, as they will still carry the full manufacturers warranty. In terms of a speaker with a flat frequency response... I would just go with something that sounds good to you. There are people that will swear by the speakers that they have chosen, whether to defend their buying choice or some other reason, but it ultimately comes down to what sounds good to you. In terms of receivers, I like Denons and Yamahas in that price range. I think both Yamaha and Denon have receivers starting out under $500. I would allocate the most money towards getting a good set of speakers, mainly a good sub and center.

[Bryan]

What I would do is as follows but you may or may not choose to go this route:

Yamaha HTR-5760 - $365 delivered (niceelectronics.com). Crap shoot here as they say the USA warranty is included but Yamaha does not list them on their website as an authorized dealer. You can go with the RX-V650 for $10 more.
Ascend Acoustics S23-2000 system - $894 delivered from AscendAcoustics.com. Traditional black speakers. Of course, if you should choose you can buy my nOrh 4.0 ceramic video package for $500 plus shipping (more detail at HTF) and that will save some money, enough to go up to a either HTR-5790 or RX-V1400.
Finally, one of the best subs out there, the SVS 20-39PCi goes for $599 plus shipping. I have the CS version of this sub in my system now. Fantastic sub that should be able to handle most anything you throw at it. Not the be all end all of $600 subs though you would be hard pressed to find something that will beat it for HT. The HSU VTF-2 is another worthy contender.

What room size (dimensions) will this future system be going in? Additionally, any openings into other rooms and, if so, what size are they? I hope you enjoy your future system, whatever it may be.