Need help creating a good sounding separates system

[Geoffcin]

Thanks Blackraven. I live in the West Village at the moment, but might move further uptown. I grew up in NYC, too, on the Upper West.

One of my big worries with the A21 is the size, I don't have the race space for it at the moment and there don't seem to be a lot of racks I've seen that can support its size. My wife is also a bit of a furniture/decor nut, er, enthusiast, and since this is going in our living room, I have to work her tastes into it a bit. I've shown her some pics of the MG 1.6s, but I don't think she's grasped how big they are.

But based on what I've read, both the A21 and the MG 1.6s seem like deals of the century compared to what they give.

I have to say, I do find the Krell 300i and the Moon i3.3 interesting at the price. I will definitely be checking those out too.

How big is the room your going to be putting the sound system into, and what will you be doing in it?

[TazioNYC]

How big is the room your going to be putting the sound system into, and what will you be doing in it?

Room size is TBD, probably something like 15X20, though who knows if we score a great deal on a bigger space. It's going in the living room, so it will be the main room in the apartment. TV will also be in there. Probably do lots of reading and general hanging out/working on the computer/entertaining. I'm definitely not looking to win any loudness contests, but I like to listen to the music as a volume that makes it sound muscular.

[Geoffcin]

Room size is TBD, probably something like 15X20, though who knows if we score a great deal on a bigger space. It's going in the living room, so it will be the main room in the apartment. TV will also be in there. Probably do lots of reading and general hanging out/working on the computer/entertaining. I'm definitely not looking to win any loudness contests, but I like to listen to the music as a volume that makes it sound muscular.

Apartment living means you will have to be nice with your neighbors. Also as this will be the main living space you might not want it dominated by speakers. So, towers, or any floor standing speakers are out. Floorstanders couple their bass to the floor and give your neighbors under you almost as much bass as you would get.

My advice would be to get a good set of monitors. I really like Totem speakers, especially their monitors. Depending on your budget you could go from the Totem Rainmaker, a real overachiver for it size, to the Totem Mani-2 Signature, a speaker I would put up against anything in it's price range.

Here's a never used pair of Model 1 Sig's that are for sale on the used market;

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....Signature-seal

Not a bad way to save $650 from book price. Once you hear a pair of these driven well you'll agree they are worth every penny.