[QUOTE=jbangelfish].
"In all my years of listening to my own stereos and other's stereos, the single biggest reason that I can think of in regards to dissatisfaction of any stereo, it would be the lack of power that people had with their systems. This is really my only point that I'm trying to make. I'm also talking about quality power which I have not found in receivers."

Understood and I agree. If your amp doesn't have sufficient power to drive the speakers, the whole system will sound like crap. The speakers I use are 103 db/1 watt/ 1 meter so 25 tubed watts more than meets my needs. 10:00 on the dial gives me lifelike volume and realism.
And I have yet to find the receiver that gives me anything but distorted sound. OTOH, I haven't come close to hearing them all.

" I am not a fan of this concept at all and prefer my speaker system to reach low 20hz or below without subwoofers. "

Same here. I can't say I've ever used a subwoofer but I do use single point source speakers with no crossover. Adding a sub is conceptual anathema, although it may work fine in practice. Luckily, I can achieve
-3 db at 20 hz.

" Certainly there is no way to completely recreate a live performance at home but if you have strong enough speakers and enough power, you can get closer than many would believe."

Completely agree. I'm always baffled by those who claim we're only 1% of the way towards recreating live music in the home. If they truly believe that, I'd have to recommend a system and software check.


" I read somewhere that turning your volume control to about 3 o'clock should yield concert level or very near concert level volume. "

How far you turn your dial for concert level volume is system dependent -no hard and fast rules. 3:00 on my system and it may be concert level but it's "your ears pinned to the hall's PA system" concert level, perhaps even louder than that. The experience would be anything but enjoyable and would result in severely damaged hearing in very short order.

"again with no distortion. If you can't do this with your stereo, I think your missing the boat and this is what I have demonstrated to so many people over the years. "

Undistorted sound at loud volumes is critical. Interestingly, I've found some components that sound worse at low volumes than at higher.