What do you do? Simple - you listen. Sure it takes some time, but, when you are purchasing things that last years, maybe an investment of a little time would be in order. Let's say you want a new home theater set-up: Step one is to select the speakers. This has to come first as the speaker and the size of your room will determine the amount of power needed from your receiver - if the speaker is less efficient, it will require more power to play at the levels you want. Note on speaker selection - the following are not relevant: how many speakers are in the box, and how big the speakers are that are in the box. What is relevant is how the speaker sounds and what it looks like (if you are married or if you have a serious involvement). I note as a contrarian that all of the speakers do not have to be made by the same manufacturer. You can probably use your old speakers as the speakers for the rear channels and you should pay particular attention to make sure that the center speaker is clear and sharp on voice. A mid bass hump will make all voices sound muddy and husky. Step 2 is to select a home theater receiver - making sure that it will accurately decode the popular music and movie formats - DTS decoder is a must as is a Dolby digital 5.1. and making sure that the receiver has enough power to play at the sound levels you want. Although all speakers sound different from one another - receivers sound pretty much the same - so just get enough power and one that you like the looks of. Shop a bit for price.
