In reply to:
I think the most profound thing I've learned about this hobby is that, next to the speakers, the ROOM has the most to do with how a given system sounds, and it's influence cannot be overestimated.
Amen to that. It is unfortunate that a lot of people do not have the opportunity to redesign their homes (let alone apartments) to accomodate a proper home theater installation (let alone a proper listening room).
In a lot of instances there is a lot of EQ'ing required to get the best sound (as the example of the Behringer Feedback Destroyer and dual EP-600s displays very well).
I have found that if the room is built (dimensionally) correctly to reduce nulls and peaks, as well as being acoustically sealed to retain the energy then smaller subs can definitely be employed to provide a spectacular sound. The system overall can be relatively small (for a typical room in a home) and get great sound given quality equipment.
That is why I am
trying to spend the time in carefully designing the room (with a limited budget) that will become the new media room. I wish I had the square footage to have a dedicated home theater room but that will be in the next house. Many moons from now
.
