Advice on speakers?

Whatever you buy, you should audition first. Speakers are perhaps the most personal part of the audio chain. Here are some speakers in your price range to hear:

Vandersteen 2C Signature II
Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand
Ohm Walsh (consult Ohm for model best suited to your room)
DCM TFE200
Silverline Audio Allegro

Thanks for the input. I agree about being being able to listen to them. The problem is that here in Mobile, AL the selection is very limited. I may have to finally decide by looks and reviews.

Joe in Mobile

Magsterone - I have a B&K 7.1 for my home theatre. It was a huge upgrade from my old trusty Denon. I ran it with Von Schweikert VR-2.s and VS surround speakers and a Denon DVD player. It sounded so good for movies, I decided to listen to music through the system. I brought in a few CD's to audition for fun. I set it to 2 channel stereo and sat back to listen. Compared to my 2 channel music set-up (which costs about the same) it was just a waste of time. The sound was muffled, tone was not there, imaging was barely present. It was not worth trying to hear the music. Just my expereince.

Are you saying the cause for the muffled sound was the B&K or the speakers?

Joe in Mobile

Vandersteen 3A Signature. Very full range at the price point.