Speaker system comparisons

[Voyager]

All,
I hate to create yet another "Help me find speakers"-thread, but.. well.. I need some opinions. I'm a HT novice but I'm looking to upgrade my HTIB setup to something more updated and better. Some specifics:
It would go into the 15x20 living room of my townhouse. The room is actually the long-leg of an L-shaped living/dining room. The sitting area is at the top of the "L" and the TV at the bottom along the wall shared with the dining room. The long wall (left edge) of the living room is dominated by two sliding glass doors and a fireplace. The short wall (right edge) also has a hallway leading to the rest of the house. It is soon to be hardwood, with area rugs. I mention this for speaker placement and/or audio qualities of the room.
My budget is approximately $2500 and I figured $1000 for a new receiver and $1500 for speakers. For the receiver I was leaning heavily toward a Yamaha RX-V2700. I like the HDMI switching/upconverting, the Network receiver and other features. Plus it seems to have favorable reviews.
Are there any recommended 5.1 or 7.1 speaker systems that match that Yammy for $1500? I was looking at the following:

System #1 ($1739)
Fronts: Axiom M22ti x 2
Center: Axiom VP100
Rear: Axiom QS8 x 2
Sub: Rocket ULW-10

System #2 ($1789)
Fronts: Axiom M22ti x 2
Center: Axiom VP100
Rear: Axiom M2 x 2
Surr: Axiom M2 x 2
Sub: Rocket ULW-10

System #3 ($1666)
Paradigm System Three.1
Fronts: Espirit x 2
Centers CC-170
Surr: ADP-170
Sub: PDR-12

System #4 ($1725)
Energy -- C-500
Fronts: Energy C-500 x 2
Center: Energy C-C100
Rear: Energy C-R100 x 2
Sub: Rocket ULW-10
Obviously I want to go listen to as much as I can before I buy, but I'd like to narrow the list down to 2-3 choices to make it more manageable. Also, being pretty new to selecting separate pieces are the systems above overkill/underkill for that receiver? for the room?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Depending on where you listening area is in the layout, any of the speakers you mentioned would likely have enough headroom but a pretty simple rule to follow is: spend 2.5 times the amount of your AVR on your speakers. Speakers are the most important component in your system. For the AVR it comes down to what features you want. Any of the Yamaha, Denon, Pioneer with >100 watts/ch should be fine. You can add an amp later if you want. Now assuming you have 8ft ceilings that puts your room around 2400 cubic ft so make ceratin you get a good sub. I would look at the mid range SVS or HSU or higher. You can always turn it down but you can only turn it up so much.

 

[avliner]

Another good option, as you're willing to get the Yammi 2700 (and to stay within your budget, or just a tid higher), would be to grab either an SVS or HSU 5.1 systems. Both are having rave reviews and comes from very reliable ID manufacturers.

Of course there are several other options outhere, but the above packages seems to be hard-to-be-beaten when things boils down to cost x benefit relationship, or the popular bang-for the-buck thing.

Hope this helps.
Cheers.

 

[Voyager]

I would look at the mid range SVS or HSU or higher. You can always turn it down but you can only turn it up so much.

Would the HSU VTF-2 or SVS PB-10 be better choices for my size room? The main reason I was going with the ULW-10 was because it was paired with the Axioms in the buyers guide

 

[Voyager]

Another good option, as you're willing to get the Yammi 2700 (and to stay within your budget, or just a tid higher), would be to grab either an SVS or HSU 5.1 systems.

I had thought about that, but wasn't going to pursue it. I read on here that great speaker manufacturers don't always make great subs, and vice versa. Then again, I did include the Paradigm PDR-12 in with the rest of the paradigm's.

 

[Voyager]

All,

System #1 ($1739)
Fronts: Axiom M22ti x 2
Center: Axiom VP100
Rear: Axiom QS8 x 2
Sub: Rocket ULW-10

System #2 ($1789)
Fronts: Axiom M22ti x 2
Center: Axiom VP100
Rear: Axiom M2 x 2
Surr: Axiom M2 x 2
Sub: Rocket ULW-10

Focusing on the Axiom's, how would a 5.1 system with 2xQS8's compare against a 7.1 with 4x M2's? My understanding is that the QS8's give a better sound field then single bookshelf but would 4 surround bookshelf's make up/compare better? Again, looking at the 5k recommended system they had used 4xM2's instead of the QS8's that came with the package.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Both of these companies are known for their high quality, low cost subs. You dont need to match (same brand)your sub to your speakers. I would get the biggest one you are comfortable paying for. Look at their B stock for some good deals.

Would the HSU VTF-2 or SVS PB-10 be better choices for my size room? The main reason I was going with the ULW-10 was because it was paired with the Axioms in the buyers guide

 

[Voyager]

I went out to a local Energy distributor. The one thing he suggested with my budget was:
2x Take TWR Towers fronts
3x Take LCR Left/Right/Center
S8.3 Sub
paired with a Sony STR-DA5200ES receiver.

It sounded good for the few minutes I could listen to it. I want to go back to audition it more, but wanted to get some general impressions compared with the packages I listed above.

Thanks!