First I will say that I have an understanding of what good sound is. I like the best but can!t afford it. That being said I think a lot of this can be overblown. In the first place if you don!t have perfet hearing across the scale you will miss some things anyway. Second,how many actual rooms in homes have you been in that can actually place speakers away from walls and furniture so that it is in position to sound the best. A setup that sounds great in one room can sound less than great in another.
Most decent receivers will suffice for all but big rooms and insensitive speakers. As you will notice in reading reviews even by the pros they have been happy with some budget systems but usually find some faults with no matter what they review. Unless you have big bucks or are able to selectively buy pieces at substantial savings budget systems are more affordable for most people especially if you need a whole system.
If you have a system at home you won!t be comparing it to anything else side by side either so you might not notice some of the shortcomings unless you have a system that you don!t like the sound of. Yes separates and the more expensive pieces sound better but you pay a lot to get a little in improvement once you get to a certain point.
As much as I like the better stuff I have heard systems that can sound good at lower price points. I have also heard expensive equipment in situations sound not so good as the sum of its parts.I think a lot of people read comments from other people and wonder what they are missing or get caught up in this one sounds better than this one. The less you can spend and be happy the better off you are. This is not a knock against anyone on this site just saying that you should buy what sounds good to you and don!t worry about anyone elses opinion about it.
Reviews can give you a general idea and point out some valid things but the best way to listen is in your own home hooked up to your own equipment in the room where it will be.
Taken with SP's comment, there's little to dispute in what you wrote. That is unlikely to stop someone from asking what speakers should go with what receiver.
Being an equipment snob (of sorts), I would disagree with the idea a "decent" receiver will suffice. I can listen to my receivers any time of the day; but they are not the same quality as my separate amps and pre amp. With the exception of the McIntosh line, it has been years (decades actually) since I can remember a receiver which could actually compete with most separates on an absolute basis. Unfortunately that Tandberg unit was not the most reliable of products and the company no longer distributes in the US.
But a Kia will (probably) get you to the store and back; so that should suffice.
"First I will say that I have an understanding of what good sound is."
Always a good starting point.
" I like the best but can!t afford it."
There is always the lotto.
"That being said I think a lot of this can be overblown."
Probably. I doubt the average Joe off the street would care if he were listening to CV's or Wilsons.
"In the first place if you don!t have perfet hearing across the scale you will miss some things anyway. Second,how many actual rooms in homes have you been in that can actually place speakers away from walls and furniture so that it is in position to sound the best. A setup that sounds great in one room can sound less than great in another."
So what? That isn't a reason to get crappy speakers. If Green Day were to hold a concert in my room, they would face the same room reflections and other challenges.
"Most decent receivers will suffice for all but big rooms and insensitive speakers. "
Some, like Jan there, would disagree.
"As you will notice in reading reviews even by the pros they have been happy with some budget systems but usually find some faults with no matter what they review. "
Nothing's perfect. And I don't recall anyone saying budget gear was that horrible.
"Unless you have big bucks or are able to selectively buy pieces at substantial savings budget systems are more affordable for most people especially if you need a whole system. "
Ok...
"If you have a system at home you won!t be comparing it to anything else side by side either so you might not notice some of the shortcomings unless you have a system that you don!t like the sound of."
So? I wouldn't buy a system unless I had made some kind of comparison against other systems and decided which I liked the best.
"Yes separates and the more expensive pieces sound better but you pay a lot to get a little in improvement once you get to a certain point."
I don't claim to be able to appreciate all the subtleties of audio; however, there are those that can appreciate those differences and have the checkbook to pay for it.
"As much as I like the better stuff I have heard systems that can sound good at lower price points."
Ok...get that then.
"I have also heard expensive equipment in situations sound not so good as the sum of its parts."
Don't get that...
"I think a lot of people read comments from other people and wonder what they are missing or get caught up in this one sounds better than this one. The less you can spend and be happy the better off you are. "
True enough.
"This is not a knock against anyone on this site just saying that you should buy what sounds good to you and don!t worry about anyone elses opinion about it. "
I wasn't planning on worrying about Paul's opinions about my lightweight bookshelves.
"Reviews can give you a general idea and point out some valid things but the best way to listen is in your own home hooked up to your own equipment in the room where it will be. "
Since this has come up again, let me state the obvious.
You are not comparing this system to that system. Hopefully you will be comparing any system or component against the sound of real live musicians making real music on real instruments. (Kraftwerk, Wendy Carlos and Kitaro excluded. OK, Blue Man Group too.)
If your only reference is another system, then, yes, you may be satisfied with crap and damn near anything will do. Could that be why Bose sells so much stuff?