Hi, I am a musician and director of music at a church in the Houston, TX area. I, at one time, practiced law and was fortunate enough to build a decent two channel system based around the BEL 1001 MKV power amp and a Magnepan 1.6, with Vandersteen 2WQ sub. Then I married a beautiful lady whose dad was one of the on air engineers for the local NBC affiliate and TV and home theater immediately became a part of my life.

Now, we have added a child and I seldom get to just sit and revel in audiophile bliss. I recently did add a DAC and mac mini music server for hi rez flac and DSD for those instances I get to listen. All of this stuff is in a really convoluted, messy set up in our living room. Magnepans, Vandersteen, BEL1001, Onkyo receiver, DirecTV box, Richard Gray 400 Pro, Mac, DAC....It is a mess. I think I will soon be able to update and modernize the whole set up. I have enjoyed this forum immensely as I have done research for the new system and before I ask my questions, I will commend this entire community for its spirit of helpfulness, patience, joy for audio and its lack of the negative, hostility that seems to infect so many online communities...Well Done.

Here is what I have on my plate:
1. Front end: Deciding between doing something like the Pioneer Elite SC-99 or the Marantz 7702 Mk2. If I go with the Marantz, I may buy some more BEL 1001s for separate power or maybe even some Outlaw 2200s...thoughts? Anyone with experience using a HT front end for 2 channel DAC critical listening?
2. Finding surround connectivity options (We have a vaulted ceiling with no crawl space to run speaker cable from front end.)
3. Speakers under consideration:
- Pioneer Elite Atmos enabled Andrew Jones designed system
- Tekton Lore Reference 5.0
- Ascend system that cherry picks best speaker for application. RAAL Tower with Horizon? HTM or CBM for surrounds?
4. Subs under consideration:
- Hsu VTF-15H Mk2
- Rhythmik 15 (no idea which)
- Tekton Enzo or Cinema Sub
- I am a little confused what the real world difference would be between an “audiophile” sub and a HT sub would be…

I would really like some input/insight. No comment or observation is too detailed or simple. Can I really have good two channel AND HT performance without emptying my savings?
How much consideration should I give to Atmos? I understand that there is not that much out now, but I will be living with system for the next 10-15 years.
Lastly, is there any way to get descent, stable wireless connectivity where I can’t run a wire?

The room is of large volume because the entire downstairs area is an open floor plan. The is a relatively open area that is roughly 25' x 58'. The front is the entry/dining area. The kitchen is in the middle with large counter and triple wide opening into the living area. The actual living/HT space is about 25' deep x 18' wide. The ceiling is sloped and fairly high 10' on two sides sloping up to almost 20'.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts!

Stan