Which Home Theater speakers for under $28,000.

Do you want it more for Music or Movies, or an even Mix? It's important because you have a great budget, but do you want to by a great projector, with super resolution? Or, do you want the sound to rock your world as a listening room? Does your $28k include your furinture?

I love how dealers talk their book. I love that many have never heard the equipment that they disparage. I did not suggest that anyone look at a Gallo Due (learn what the equipment is named before you talk smack about it, think a DEALER would know that), in this price range. It also is amazing that The Absolute Sound's reference surround system is a total Magnepan system. But Cinematic Systems knows that dipoles are terrible for theater, so much for trade publications and all that knowledge the Editorial staff there has. They should have known to call the Niles Audio dealer from Pig's Knuckle Arkansas before they put that system together.

In your price range Maggies, Innersounds or Vandersteens would be great systems. Cinema SLAM comes from the subwoofers, in general, and all of those are augmented by such. A Maggies system would need multiple subs, maybe a Vandy 2wq up front and a dedicated LFE sub for soundtrack. A Sunfire True Sig would do the trick, there are a lot of very good "Boomers". If you want just one, a Velodyne DD18 would compress the whole room and integrate very well for music.

Once again, before you listen to some guy who claims to be some type of audio dealer, read some opinions of other users and trade pubs. You already have an excellent set up it appears, and there is so much good equipment out there that for $30k you will be very happy. Just stay away from Charlatan "Dealers". I guess if you worked at Radio Shack for a couple of weeks in 1978 you can call yourself a dealer.

OK, someone get Albert Porter in here. His opionion I trust.

BTW - because of some of these posts I just went to hear a Vandy 5a based system with their VCC-5 as the center channel, and the Vandy surrounds and Subs (2 V2W's), just to make sure that I was not crazy. Electronics were BEL and Theta Digital, with a Runco Projector (don't know which model but they said it had a scaler) and Stewart screen. All BEL wires and connects, video through the Denon 5910, audio Linn Unidisk 2.1. It was sublime for all media. Just for kicks, the store owner even hooked up a Rega P7 through the PrePro (Musical Fidelity X-lp phono stage with tube line stage in the path), and the sound was fantastic even through the PrePro.

This guy has been a dealer, a real dealer, for years and we live in by far the worst big city in the US as far as audio goes, and he still thrives. Anyway, he pushes people to certain product because he knows they will be satisfied. It is all a matter of what you like, and need. Very few businesses survive on reputation alone, especially in highly specialized consumer goods. Names like McIntosh, Magnepan, Vandersteen, Musical Fidelity, Nottingham, VPI, Wilson produce fantastic products. If they did not they would be out of business. To say their advertising pays off so well is a ridiculous assertion. In such a small commuinity as audio-philia only performance will allow a company to last, little lone thrive.

Also, to the "Dealer(?)" whose customer's Maggie 20.1's are having problems, send them to their area Maggie dealer for help. I am sure they have the requisite knowledge to help them clear up the problems these customers are having with what many real experts argue is the finest speaker made at any price. They may need to move them away from the wall, and plug in an amp that matches the speakers characteristics. Pretty tough to help them with that, but shouldn't be for such an expert dealer.

Electrostaticman, go to Albert Porter's System and read his last post. A voice of reason, with real knowledge behind, it is always worth reading.