system matching help

Rock & Roll and TV... Why not just go HT? IMHO: I wouldn't spend that kind of money on your system relative to your music tastes... Seems like sort of a waste.

I agree with going with a good Home Theater system considering your intended use and music taste.

as a cj owner and lover, i'm a huge fan of the 11a and think that it is capable of delivering the current you would require to drive some of the speakers you mentioned (even the limited power 11xs drives ml's sl3's). that said, i agree that you should spend some time in a high quailty a/v showroom. and consider going with a solid state multichannel amp, around which you can build a really solid home theater set up. on this site i've seen some good deals on cj's solid state 5 channel amp, as well as some good deals on krell's (slightly more expensive) offering. there are quite a few good multichannels out there. with good front speakers, most will be capable of delivering excellent 2 channel sound as well. in my opinion, this makes sense given your 50/50 tv/audio split.

Why the snobbery.Does one who enjoys rock and roll not have the right to purchase good high end gear.Or sorry is it for the Classical Jazz snots only. As for advice.Two Channel and HT are hard to do well in one system.If you have too combine them then go with a good HT 5 Channel amp.A Bryston 7bST/Anthem MCA 5 and a good AV preamp.Anthem AVM 2.I would invest 2K in the source and then listen to a whoke bunch of speakers.

I'm going to have to go with Leafs on this one. It is hard to do HT and 2 channel together but not impossible. Not knowing your budget but assuming you don't want to spend too much, start looking for a good AV preamp that gives you an analog bypass. I currently use a B&K Ref 20 like this. Next, when looking for front LR speakers for 2 channel, make sure the manufacturer also makes a center channel speaker that will match sonically with the LR speakers. I currently use Vienna Acoustics Beethovens as my main LR speakers and a VA Maestro for the center. Next, comes the amp. You may consider getting a separate two channel amp for the LR speakers and a 3 channel amp for the center and rear. I currently use a Proceed AMP2 for the LR mains. This works well with the B&K and VA Beethovens for 2 channel. When I want to go HT, I turn on the 3 channel amp and am set to go. The most important thing though is to audition as many speakers as possible in your budget range. Good luck whatever you decide.