Personally I think Bose is total junk and I think JBL is not far off from Bose. That is just my opinion. And you can buy high-end equipment from dealers with a return policy. Don't be so ignorant. There are other ways to do things in life. I am right that you should not blindly trust reviews. You should listen to the equipment yourself. I never said they were total ********. A lot of times reviewers are a bit more critical and sometimes I think they are just totally wrong. Other times I totally agree with them. That's great that you go to a major university. And you hardly need a class in sound and equipment. What is that anyways? Some cheesy elective easy A course? Anyways... I mean it sounds like you were bashing on me cause I have money. Well I paid my dues in college. I still try to save money where I can. I once bought a hit car and had it repaired/repaired it myself to save money. I never had any problems with the car. I bought it for about half of what I could have normally bought it. Not everyone dogs their car or stereo. Though I don't recommend anyone ever to buy a car from me because I do dog my cars. But I do take very good care of my stereo equipment. Most people who own high-end equipment are not 21 partying in a dorm trying to make the whole dorm shake. You sound like your major university is a local vo-tech.

++Russ

Repstein,
I do not go to a vo-tech school, I actually am studying to be an electrical engineer at Drexel University, and never tried to rock out my dorm because I couldn't afford a system. The course was not an elective, it is a core course that deals with circuits and fields (mainly sound and magnetic) and yes I did get an "A". It does actually help a lot to know about sound and how the equipment is built. You can avoid overpaying for name brand things such as wires (Monster Wire), cables (Monster Cables), and some high end audio equipment by being able to tell if another cheaper brand offers the same exact thing. I am not saying that it is neccesarily true in this case, but you can compare things much more easily when you have a knowledge of how they are built and how they work. It is even more important to understand how sound fields work in order to optimally set up a system. It is much more complicated then most know it alls think. I really do not feel like bickering anymore over something as trivial as sound equipment. I just hate it when people who have a lot of money and can afford high end audio equipment try to tell other people who may not be in the same financial situation that they would never buy products like the JBL Studio Seris because they don't sound good. That is a lie. The fact is they sound extremely good for their price. In the future you rich HT nuts should try to help beginners in HT by not misleading them to think they need to spend $5000 or more to put together a quality system.

Calm down there ZenDog. No one even mentioned buying expensive gear. Most manufactures do have speakers starting at reasonable prices, like $200 a pair. Sure they don't have 15" woofers, but that's not the point. Congrats on your A in circuits, but don't underestimate the DVDTalkers here, most all of us have taken circuits and all those physics classes. It seems everyone here was just trying to be helpful. Listening to many brands of speakers before you buy them goes a long way to making an informed decision. So some of us are not fond of JBL....big deal. Vlad's got some monster HT speakers, great. This guy is obviously looking for input on buying a set of speakers and that led to his posting. Input was given. Great, that's how a forum works.

remember the blind test (or even the double blind test), you might end up picking up a bose or a jbl. I read somewhere it's kinda like choosing the pizza you hate over your favorite pizza, just because it's slightly warmer (and of course, with your eyes covered). Imho these things are pretty subjective, and depends an awful lot on your needs. Maybe a Mustang works fine in straight and long american freeways, but probably BMW is better in winding and narrow roads of Europe. Have fun!

....and another thing is, there's nothing wrong buying online or buying a used car (which both I do), as long as you do some research and take calculated risk. I know audiogon are frequented by those who really take care of their equipment, and this is proven by some of my friends who did buy quality equipment at lower prices. the same goes to buying used car, you do research, bring it to a reputable mechanic for 2nd opinion, and make educated decision. nothing is certain in this world, there are tons of variables that could affect the end result. but then you have a pair of ear, and that brain mass in between, to make life a bit easier.

Anyway, Easy, to come back to your question. I have the Yamaha 995 which I like very much. I have heard very good things about the Outlaw receiver, but have not personally heard it. My sub is the Definitive Technology PF15. It is wonderful. Since I bought mine, I understand they have upgraded it. I'm not rich but I love HT, which is why I read and participate in these posts. Just rely on your ears and pick what sounds best to you.