So I am looking to make the leap into the world of home theater/surround sound music, and after endlessly searching the internet have decided on Ascend. I plan to get 2 pairs of 170's and either a 170 or C340 for a center. I am just trying to figure out what to power them with.
I am on a bit of a budget, as I am a college student, and thereby automatically poor. (As a classically trained cellist, however, my ears won't allow me to go too cheap on speakers). I just found out I got a research fellowship this summer in addition to my normal pay, so I plan to use this for the my home theater setup. I have been looking at the pioneer vsx 1014 and 1015 as well as the panasonic xr-70. These are a bit on the high side, so I am looking for other options in this range, or preferably lower that will do the speakers justice.
My only real worry is that I want to get the max power out of these speakers (without distortion of course). The room these will be going in is 16 x 20, with an adjoining kitchen that is about 8 feet deep (same width, they are just seperated by a bar). My real problem I see is that this is a loft with 14 foot ceilings (they are wooden, all 2x6's), and two walls are painted brick (the walls on either side of the corner where the tv sits).
Anyway, after that aside, anyone have some more reciever reccomendations?