Well, it's finally time!

I got married back in October, and some of my buddies (who laggardly didn't get us a wedding gift until some 6 months after the wedding) have come through in the clutch! Talk about total redemption...

I just received a gift certificate from 4 of my buddies in my e-mail inbox towards the purchase of my new Axioms.

I guess I have no excuses - just late round jitters.

My wife has given me a sizeable budget to buy my speakers, receiver, wire, cd player and new TV.

I'm planning on going with a pair of M60s, QS8s, the VP100 and a pair of M2s for the rear. I'll couple this with a Yammy 1400, and some sort of RPTV (DLP or LCD - haven't decided - may wait for LCOS to prove itself - either way, TV is about a year off...)

Anyway, just wanted to share some good news, and get some reinforcement that saving $360 isn't worth it to get the M22s.

Looks like I'll be waiting a whole 14 weeks, which puts us onto mid-July, for delivery. That's a long time to wait, isn't it? Hope I can withstand the anticipation. I guess it really will be like Christmas in July.

ola capn..

i was(am) in the same boat, as far as waiting for speakers. my wife wants them to match the rest of the furniture, so i am having cover samples sent to me.. should be here by friday. once we choose the color, build will take 4-6 weeks, so looks like i wont be getting my system(60's, 150, qs8s) til sometime around the 2-3 week of may.. the anticipation is gonna kill me also, but it will make the 'moment' much more better.

glad your buddies pulled through for you.. and if your wife gave you a big budget for the HT, you must be doing something right.. keep doing it.. and if she changes her mind... in the words of the oh so wise one, RAY3-- sell your wife..

bigjohn

Well, here is some unsolicited input. I see $360 for some M2s and $0 for a sub. The M2s will be good for 6.1 and 7.1 which, hopefully, someone will begin to make in enough quantity to use 2 additional rear speakers. On the other hand, EVERYTHING you listen to will have bass. $360 towards a sub with the M2s on the back burner might be something to consider.

Also, if momma gave you the green light for some HT, check out ecost and search on "Denon". Apparently Denon is making a bunch of refurb / B-stock equipment available (they generally wait until they have enought to matter) at some WOW prices. DVD 1600 is availabel, along with the AVR 2803 and some DCM/DVM equipment (CD 5 disc changers)Couldn't hurt to look.

Other than that - the anticipation will kill you, but will be well worthwhile!

My two cents seem to be in line with Ray's. I have m60s, qs8s, vp150, and an audiosource sub (200 watts, boomy, far from ideal. I got it for $40 from someone in college who was moving and couldn't bring it along.) I personally plan on upgrading my reciever, dvd player, tv, and my sub, before I buy rear speakers. (Although I will buy a reciever that can support 7.1 when I upgrade it.) The m60s reproduce the upper bass region very nicely, but you can't rely on them to rattle your shelves like a sub can do.

Re: Sub Issue.

I'm gonna go with the Hsu STF-2. No worries, got the bass(es) covered.

Re: Denon.

What kind of prices are we talking about here. And are Denon receivers that much better than the Yamaha? Or is it a power issue? The Yamaha 1400 supports 7.1 outputs (mono rears) and 7.1 stereo SACD - that's why I'm getting it. Although, with 14 weeks to wait, the whole world could change.

I'll keep an open mind, and check out those refurbs....they come with warranties, right?

What Denon models should I be looking at that are comparable/better than the 1400 in the same price range?

The Denon 3803 is available (for pre-order) Refurb on JandR for $500, you can tack on an extended (3yr) warranty for $30. That's what I'm currently mulling over receiver wise.

Yeah, Andy hit got the brass ring with the 3803. The other suggestion is the 2803 at ecost. Generally, both are 30% - 50% off MSRP. Frankly, the only thing missing relative to the Yammy is the "auto speaker calibration" thing, which doesn't appear to be getting real high marks in relation to using an SPL meter.

At $500, (and I've said this before), the 3803 is "Grand Theft Receiver". I'm thinking about getting another one for my den.

The Yamaha has all that the Denon has, plus full component up conversion (so you only have one wire to the TV) and Pro-logic IIx decoding (for stereo 7.1 sound), plus a lower THD rating, I believe.

It's running for about $575, plus shipping to VA is around $25
So, it's gonna cost about $100 more, see here.

Actually, the 3803 also does video upconversion, but either one works well for you. Toss a coin and both sides win.

Be careful too, I hear tell that some 1400s have PLIIx and some only have PLII.

Yeah - the older models deinitely only have PLII - I think PLIIx only came out commercially in October or November of 2003.

Some of the retailers online definitely only have the PLII models, whcih is probably one reason why the model is going for sale on line.

I also advise a quick call to your online e-tailer to make sure that the box says "PLIIx" on the outside. Ask them to read the box before telling them what it means or asking them if it has it.

If the Denon has the same up-conversion feature (I saw that it does have component video switching), then, you are probably right that it is a wash - But I think I'd be willing to pay a little extra so that my rear channel investment gets a work out too.

I have an RX-V1400 and it's very good. However if you ever plan on multichannel SACD or DVD-A, most receivers (inc'l the 1400) cannot do bass management or time arrival (aka delay) on multichannel analog inputs. The Denon 3803 can. The RX-V1400 has the YPAO parametric EQ which the 3803 lacks. However I think the 3805 has both features, but is more expensive.

Adrien, none of the receivers mentioned have all the features which are desirable, but the 1400 in my view has the best combination in that price range. As you say, DPLIIx should be a must for playing 2 and 5 channel material on a 7.1 setup. Upconversion to component is a nice convenience which both the Denon and Yamaha models mentioned have. Automatic equalization is a big plus for the 1400. Internal bass management for SACDs or DVD-As is available on the HK630 and 525, but neither the Denons nor the Yamahas have it. Your choice.