I will keep everyone apprised as I get the rest of my gear.

My wife is FULLY on board. I have the new head unit and the surrounds with the new center...playing with my old Focal mains...and the old subwoofer....and she was TICKLED to death...and said "This is going to get better?!?"........and then I heard the words......"You mean this will be better than a BOSE system I wanted?!?"

I cant wait to see the look on her face when we watch Transformers (one of her FAVORITE movies) on the full system with the Beast FF 5 sub.

I am SO lucky I married my best friend....were both stoked about moving forward. But of course she has learned to trust my instincts on stereo gear....when we first got married I put a stereo in the jeep. Polk Separates, nice amps, it was about $2500.00. She was like WHAT?!? A week later she was grabbing the keys to the jeep just wanting to take it on a trip to listen and jam out on the stereo. so OH YEAH....shes part of this.

We are both stoked and cant wait to dig in to the last pieces of this.

Just put in a new 65" Vizio TV as well. and I got to move the 55" upstairs to game on.....its like my second childhood.

Roman

Roman, you are a VERY blessed man to have a good and understanding wife!!!!
And one that loves music, well that is Fantastic!!!!!
I had a smile on my face reading about you guys listening to music together!!!!
And if you can enjoy music AND movies together with this system, it will be GREAT, I have NO DOUBT that it will be just that for you!!!!
Really glad you joined us here!
Please keep in touch,
Happy listening together,
God Bless,
Wayne

TOTAL change of plans. Ok.....having time before I can finalize the purchase has given me time to listen to the system downstairs. Using my SSat3's for my center and rear channels. I changed them to the front and they sounded pretty good too. Not as good as the Aon2's during their demo. But then I started to think a bit. Downstairs is my wife's domain. She LOVES music but does not have as critical an ear as I do. She love the system just as it is with my 30 Year old JM-Labs speakers in place doing front duty. Ok...so with that in mind and the knowledge that the downstairs unit will be doing more surround duty than critical listening....and this being her domain and I would only have after she went to bed to listen to the system in stereo and truly enjoy the Aon2s for what they can do. I came up with a plan.

A bit of background info. I work by day as a computer tech for the City Of Portland. I have a second business as a landscape photographer and my work is starting to be noticed. I recently got picked up by a gallery in Germany and they have been putting my work in brick and mortar stores all over the globe. Dubai, London, SoHo, you get the idea. Part of my creative process is listening to music. I LOVE my Klipsch THX computer speakers, but the imaging is not there. The more immersed I am in my music that drives me...the greater the creative juices flow during my editing sessions.

BTW....here is my work for those looking. www.romanjohnston.com

My new plan is this. I got the new Onkyo unit for downstairs and the 3 SSat3 units already downstairs. Replace the old fronts with 2 more SSat3 units and get the old 40 year old sub replaced with a FF3 unit. She will be tickled pink as she almost always listens to the unit in surround mode and just wants a system that "sounds better than bose"......ok...no brainer this definitely works.

Upstairs in my office and editing room. (a smaller 12 x 13 bedroom)
Sonos Connect AMP - 50W/Per channel
Aon2 used as nearfield listening speakers and sound for my 55" TV that I have in the room.
FF3 subwoofer

Sonos will stream all my music (most of it FLAC) in my computer and storage drive (I have about 400GB of music)

This gives us both the things we want...she wants good sound and surround for the entire lower floor. She can crank it up while doing her daily stuff.

It gives my soul the nourishment I need to get in the creative groove that makes my work come alive.

And when we get out of our rental home, and into our own I can add 2 Invisa HTR 7000s do the surround sound Atmos system to complete that area and will not need any upgrades to the office.

It keeps me in budget and takes care of both arenas.

I am glad the universe gave me some time to work this out logically and emotionally.

Roman

Roman,

Sounds like a very logical plan. Glad to hear your passion as a shutterbug is paying off. It would be great to do a job that you love. Are you in Portland, OR? I'll head to your website from here to check it out.

Cheers,

T Cobe

So, definitely Portland, Oregon! I love the PNW and Portland is a great city. I've been there a few times in the past couple of years. Beer, food, coffee, culture... A lot to offer!

Some spectacular work on your website! With your natural talent for composition and skill with the camera and editing, it's no wonder you're getting noticed! Definitely professional level work: hope the shutterbug comment didn't offend.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Yes, Hillsboro. We do have an amazing city. Love it here. Thanks about my work and no offense taken. Actually appreciate that you said something though. It is my life's work. Music has always been what cleanses my soul from the dust of everyday life. Totally stoked that I will get to listen to those Aon 2s while editing.....and please my best friend.......my partner in life all within the budget.

And I may just get another Onkyo head unit. Cant find anything better that can connect all I need to with as good or better amp reviews.

I was looking at the Marantz with 50WPC.....might be my only other unit.

Roman