Quote Originally Posted by MntnMan62
I really appreciate everyone's imput here, especially RGA for the detailed technical perspective. Realizing that it is all about listening, I will be heading to a Best Buy to listend to the Polks and the Klipsch's side by side. The other ones on the list don't appear to be sold by anyone nearby for me to listen to them. I may also look further into the Aperions since they offer a 30 day no risk at home trial period. On the subject of power, I don't usually play music at very loud volumes however, I would still like to know that I can if on occasion I want to crank some Zappa or Return to Forever or Michael Brecker. And if I understand RGA correctly, since my HK puts out 120 watts per channel, I need a speaker that can handle that amount of power. I now know I also need to check the speaker's sensitivity as well. And if I still have it all wrong RGA, don't hesitate to let me know.
You don't need a speaker that can handle 120 watts - you could buy a speaker that can handle 300 watts or a speaker that can handle 20 watts. Think of a loudspeaker as a bucket and an amplifier as a well. The speaker merely asks the amplifier for power. My speakers handle 80 watts and my amplifier is 10 watts. Actually the amplifier is 4.2 watts without distortion. You'd be surprised just how little watts you actually ever use - whether the amplifier is 5 watts or 500 watts. most of the time you're under 2 watts. Which is why I would rather buy quality than quantity.

If a 5 watt amp can drive you from the room with your ears ringing then it's not something to pay much attention to is it. The problem is marketing departments have nothing to SELL. At big box chains where listening conditions are terrible - it's hard for the average person to hear which is better. So they try and sell numbers - similar to mega pixels on a camera. More is not necessarily better - A DSLR 6mp camera is usually better than a 12mp point and shoot because it's all in the lens not the digital processing.

Your amp will drive most loudspeakers and probably all loudspeakers in the price band you're considering. The easy to drive speakers are a good idea because if down the road you choose to get really serious about this then you can look at better quality lower powered amp and you won't need to replace your speakers. The Klipsch or possibly the Tektons mentioned would certainly be easy to drive loudspeakers - the trouble with single drivers tends to be a lack of bass output - but frankly most speakers this size don't have a ton of bass depth. It would be nice if whatever you choose you can audition first. You may like the Polks although Klipsch may have an edge here. Athena Technologies and Energy loudspeakers (sister companies) if they're in your area are pretty easy to drive and sound pretty good for the money as well.