Hello Axiom people,

I've been lurking these forums off and on for a couple of years now since I bought Axioms for my media room (90% home theater, 10% music). I'm more than pleased with this purchase.

I'm not an audiophile by any stretch, so be patient with me if I'm explaining myself poorly.

The media room is about 12 x 16 x 7.5. I have a 5.1 setup -- 60s, 100, QS8s (powered by a Denon 3803) and a SVS sub. When watching HDTV and other cable channels such as HBO or Encore, I notice the VP 100 gets quite a workout. That's fine and all, but I've noticed it doesn't sound as "full" as, say, the 60s, if that makes any sense. To my ears, voices could be a little deeper, a little larger. It sounds a bit "small" to me. By the way, the TV, 60s and 100 are about 8.5 feet from the couch. the 100 rests on top of the TV cabinet. (A couple of rubber doorstops help point the speaker toward the viewer/listener. Heh.)

Anyhow, with a small room (about 1445 cubic feet, right?) to work with, would it be overkill to consider moving up to a VP 150 for the center? I'm interested in the quality of the sound experience, not so much buying a bigger speaker for the hell of it. Any thoughts here? Do you need more information?

OK, next topic: I'm going to build a second AV setup in another room that's about 12 x 19 x 7.5. This will be for 65% music and 35% HT. I'm planning on 60s, QS8s, VP 100 (possibly the one I'll swap out for the 150 in the primary HT room) and a subwoofer to be determined.

My pop-music tastes are all over the map -- the Replacements, the Clash, Los Lobos, Exile-era Stones, Al Green, Wilco, Aretha Franklin, Uncle Tupelo, the Jayhawks, Aimee Mann, Richard (and Linda) Thompson, Dylan, the Pixies, Elvis Costello, Outkast, the Roots, Nirvana and some Beatles.

Save for a few SACDs and DVD-Audio discs, I'll be listening to CDs primarily as intended: two channels.

I don't listen to music at ear-splitting levels, but I often like to crank it up.

Quality of the music experience is important to me here. At the same time, HT features such as sync delay and video conversion are welcome, too.

I'm shopping for a receiver that that can power these speakers. I'm pretty flexible with the budget: $500 to $1,000.

I've been considering the Harman/Kardon 630 or 635 or perhaps another Denon, but I'm open to suggests. Got any?

Thanks for your help!