Thanx for the feedback guys, the props and your sympathy with my situation are well spoken for!

topspeed -
After the flak I got the last time for leaving the remotes out, I decided to hide them from view. Believe me, those pics are NOT the "lived in" condition that you normally see in that room! My better half also was questioning whether she wanted the speakers right in front of the door, because when I was using those old Bose 301s as the surrounds, she (and I) hated looking at the back of those things when we got home. But, since the cherry finish on the speakers matches the floor, she doesn't mind them.

I'm counting on those HDTV prices to fall, since the infamous WAF forced me away from RPTV and towards plasma. I was looking at a closeout deal on a Mitsubishi RPTV, but my wife took one look at it and said no way. Then she pointed at the plasmas and said that's what "we" want. Of course, that was before the sticker shock!

Worf -
The speaks are the Paradigm Studio v.2 series. Their newer v.3 models have a slightly different look, but they sound very nice with probably the best imaging I've ever heard from a sub-$1,000 box speaker. I went with the standmounts because the floorstanding equivalents were about $200 over my price limit, and I knew that I would eventually add a subwoofer. Plus, aside from the bass extension, I felt that the standmounted version had better tonal balance and overall coherency in the midrange.

P.S. So, that's what a Klingon looks like after one too many hits off the Afrosheen pipe!