[astroglide]

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If you where to move to a blastable location, which Receiver / Speaker combination would you be looking at as a replacement?

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i would probably target a price range, troll around avsforum and cnet for recommendations, and then try to listen to the elements of the setup in-person.

i find the idea of somebody not being able to tell the difference between dvd and hdtv somewhat revolting, but i think i would put myself in that same category when it comes to audio. unless two things are literally side by side, i think i would be unlikely to perceive something as being signifigantly better. but then again, i question the veracity of so many people's claims on audio because there are such varying opinions. hundreds of brands and combinations, and it still seems like so many of them are individually just brand loyalists. if that's what the discriminating ear is boiling it down to, maybe things really are close within a given price strata.

i sort of liken it to people having intense feelings about specific branded liquors when they would probably be unable to pick it out of a lineup. if simply asserting that a specific, esoteric brand is tops makes one an expert i'll probably never get there. i actually kinda hope that there is a medium to high end equivalent of a home theater in a box. for most people that's probably just going to the local high-end store and asking for a packaged recommendation, but if i'm going to be taking a lot of it on "well it's plenty good for me!" faith i figure i might as well get a deal.

perhaps all of this will open up and change for me when i begin investigating, but i doubt it.