Sometimes it's best to start small (rather, less $) and upgrade down the road if you deem it necessary. Why spend the extra $ if something cheaper will fit your needs or more?
i agree and disagree with this statement. to me, sometimes it's better to start "small" in the sense that it would be better to spend your entire budget on front 3 speakers instead of all of the speakers at once, so that you could get something of better quality that you REALLY want. but the thing is, you wouldn't be spending less money in the long run, it would be more, but for better product.
also OP, asking for blind opinions on forums will only get you so far. different speakers sound different to different people. we all have different preferences.
this is a pretty big purchase $$ wise, $3k is no chump change. take your time and don't rush into it. go over on AVS and ask around who has the sets you are interested in purchasing. many people will let you go over to their house and listen to the speakers and demo them.
before i purchased my stuff i was 100% set on Klipsch or B&W speakers. i had demo'd paradigm, klipsh, b&w, polk, monitor audio, salk, goldean ear, and some others. i had heard the B&W speakers in a local store that had sold me, and i then found someone on avs that had the klipsch setup i was initially interested in. i went and demo'd them and the Klipsch definitely sounded a little too bright for my likings, if it was somethign i'd watch a 2 hour movie with. i mean they sounded great, don't get me wrong, but they weren't what i wanted to spend the cash on.
so after that i did even more research, since it had been like 2 weeks since i started my search. after weeks more i was lead to JTR speakers which i had never heard of. 100% of the people i talked to on avs said that the JTR speakers blew the klipsch and B&W out of the water. problem was, i couldn't find anyone local to listen to them. but even b&w and klipsch owners told me that the JTR speakers sounded better than the ones i was looking at. hell the guy who demo'd me his klipsch setup flat out told me if he could do it all again, he would have not gotten klipsch and gone with JTR instead. and this is a huge DIY guy so he knows a lot about the innards of speakers and how they work.
to make a somewhat long story shorter, i ended up blind purchasing my LCR blindly after hearing JTR subs (which i purchased as well) since i saw the quality of the sub, and matched with the praise these speakers got, i just did it. needless to say i don't think i could be happier now. and since then i have purchased 2 rear JTR speakers as well to complete my setup. so i now have 7 JTR speakers for my 5.2 setup.
moral of the story - research and demo (if possible) because everyones tastes and needs are different. don't just jump into something for $3k because there are a couple people on the forum telling you to get them. i'm not saying they are bad speakers or anything, just that if it were me i'd do as much research as possible before spending $3k on stuff.
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