Hey guys, I'm new to the group and digging this thread up once again.
We are finishing our basement this winter, and I'm in the process of researching a second home theater space. This will also double as my music listening space - and I suspect I'll be listening to music here more than we'll be watching movies. I always love this journey, and the last time I was on this walk, I ended up with Polk LSi15's for my upstairs living room. At the time they were hard to beat, and I still love the sound they produce after 17 years of use.
Now? the space is definitely different. The sitting area is 12' deep and 14' wide, with an 8' ceiling. There is no 4th wall behind the sitting area. It's wide open to the other end of the basement - about 25' additional feet. Directly behind our new little home theater will be small kitchenette, and gathering table. Beyond that, a multi-purpose area for exercise and whatever the kids want to do that isn't wrecking my new speakers/TV.
I've listened to the Sonetto 1, R3, Vandersteen VLR, Triangle Comete, and the Revel M105. I know the listening spaces where I listened to these speakers wasn't idea compared to my at home environment. While I appreciate different aspects of the other speakers, I'm heavily leaning to the M105. They seemed to have a fuller body of sound, and wouldn't be fatiguing during an extended listening session. Conversely, the R3, while the initial impression was WOW, as the sound smacked me in the face, the highs seemed rather abrasive as I increased the volume. I loved the detail at lower levels, but the brightness became a bit much.
So this brings me to a couple of questions, as I try to wrap my head around this:
From personal listening experiences, if anyone has them, what have you preferred amongst the Revel bookshelf speakers? There's a distinct price difference between the M16 and M106. Is there a significant difference it sound quality/sound stage/imaging between the M16, M105 or M106? Would the step up be worth it from the M16 to the M105? Would I be missing out on anything if I didn't buy the M106. Is there a HUGE upgrade from the M105 to the M106? ...not sure I can afford the M106, it's right on the edge - but I might be able to swing it.
Lastly, for an AVR receiver, what would be a good pairing for listening to music as well as playing movies? Someone suggested a Marantz. Someone above mentioned Yamaha seemed to tame the brightness of speakers. Any recommendations for a good AVR would be helpful as well. ...and I'd prefer to spend more on the speakers than the AVR at this point. So trying to keep the AVR to $700-$1,000.
Sorry for all of the random questions over this - but my head is swirling whirlwind of thoughts, and it's difficult to listen to the Revels, as the closest dealer is a good 3+ hours round trip away.