In reply to:
I only have a couple friends in the area and they aren't into HT, so their opinions do not hold much credibility, as far as I'm concerned.
Man, you need a better class of friends!
I can see what you're looking for. Now that I'm finishing my setup, I'd love to have some "experienced ears" offer their opinions.
I think, to a large degree, however it sounds to you is important. But, there's something to be said about having the system "correct" to "train" your ears a bit (especially if your only experience is with a $399 HTIB). THEN, if you want to deviate because you like sound that isn't perfectly flat that's cool... at least you've set a "reference" or "standard" to make your preferred adjustments from.
