[jeffc]

"bob" wrote in message
...

Don't worry about this (despite what Harley says). It is important to
get a receiver powerful enough to drive your chosen speakers, but
assuming sufficient power, the idea that a set of speakers will sound
different with every receiver out there is golden-ear bunkum.

It's not so much a matter of speaker-receiver "systems" sounding different,
it's a matter of different amplifiers often sounding different. There is no
voodoo here.

True, there can be incompatibilities with certain types of speakers. All
power is not equal. Some amps can deliver more current into varying loads,
etc. So "sufficient power" is not a sufficient condition to base your
buying choice on, necessarily.

Having said that, most middle of the road quality 5.1 speaker systems will
be fine with most quality receivers. As mentioned, pay attention to room
acoustics if you want more than just clear movie soundtracks. And as
mentioned, pay attention to the subwoofer, subwoofer placement, and
crossover/integration as well.