I'm visiting and helping a friend buy and set up a home theatre setup in Manhattan at the end of the month, and he's been totally overwhelmed with all of the advice and links I've been sending him by email. I'm thinking the easiest thing to do is to just take him to some good stores and start demoing systems to find out what he likes. Any favorite stores/salespeople?
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It's going to be a bit of a challenge. He's not a tech-geek and isn't interested in the details, but definitely has a discerning ear... classically trained jazz pianist that now writes and mixes hip-hop beats as a hobby. It will need it to handle HT and audio, but he has a relatively big budget (~$6-7000, SXRD display already purchased). My thinking is something like the AV123 Strata Mini HT package and MFW-15, and either a Yam RX-V2700 or Emotiva separates depending on how much he seems to like all the gadgets on modern receivers (my bet is he'll prefer the simplicity of the Emotivas). Of course, none of those can be demoed in advance, but I think some store visits will really help. Also, will need to save a healthy chunk of cash for room treatments... I think he's got a big open space and hardwood floors.
