I've recently had the opportunity to do something that I've wanted to do for years, which is to set up a music listening room. This will be in addition to our very decent home theater, and in a completely different room, so I want to optimize it for the enjoyment of music. I have very eclectic tastes, but listen to probably 75% classical and jazz, and my tastes also range from 80's alternative (like the Smiths ), to world music, Celtic, Blue grass/ country- In fact, there are few types I don't enjoy to some extent.

The room is a step down family room which measures about 21 X 29, but is the same width as the kitchen, so the actual room length is more like 50'. I have an understanding wife who will let me do just about anything in terms of acoustic treatments and speaker positioning.

My initial question is this, currently I own over 200 CD's and they are what I critically listen to at the moment. It looks to me like SACD and DVD-A are coming up, but at the moment I'm not considering exploring this option, though in several years that could change. The 'windfall' that is funding this would allow me to consider something like a pair of Von Schweikert VR 3.5's for a stereo system, or something like 4 M80Ti's and a matching Center should I decide to go the 5.1 Music route. Due to the 'once in a lifetime' nature of this situation, if I should get the Von Schweikert's, I won't be upgrading to a matched surround system any time soon, so it'd be great stereo for the foreseeable future! These are only some initial ideas for speakers, and I'm open to any suggestions.

Thus, I'm weighing in my mind the pros and cons of getting best possible stereo system I can afford, or going with less expensive, though still very good speakers for the 5.1 option.

While this is the speaker area, the electronics I'm considering are the forthcoming Outlaw RR2150 stereo receiver, and the forthcoming Arcam AVR 300 which would support either option, though I'm exploring other ideas. As my home theater is also more than decent for music, I'm in no hurry and want to take my time and do my homework to get it right.

Thanks for any feedback