Yeah, i agree with the Bookshelf thing. I think many times buying BS in the same line as some towers can represent better value. However, IME, and in my house, for the way I listen BS speakers just don’t do it. Even ones that get loud, just don’t excite the airwaves with as much weight and scale. What that means for ME anyway, is save longer for what I want instead of going with the lowest common denominator.l just to get it done. In my bedroom though, I do have BS’s and they’re just fine.
I also think the 90wpc recommendation is pretty good. I’ve seen it stated that the difference between 105w and 125w is basically moot, and academically I think that’s true. However I did an experiment once with two AVR’s I happened to have here. My 135w Onkyo, and my 125w pioneer.
So my buddy brought over a BD of a fun little band called Rush. R30 was the title and it sounds amazing. Starting with the onk we started watching at MV-20 and went up from there. At -0 it sounded very much like being there! Great dynamics, clear sound etc. awesome!!! He looked over at me with the stupidest smile on his face. It was great. Then we swapped it out for the pio, and ran mcacc. Tried it again and by about -15 you could tell it was running out of gas. Until then. Mcacc did great, and the sound was good, but it was obvious that the “concert” experience we had before was not gonna happen. I also noticed the same phenomenon with movies. This is all anecdotal of course so take it with a grain of salt. Just thought it’d be of interest, and also that my findings haven’t followed the academic applications of watts and such. Dinnertime...