I'm not a paragon of virtue but this is one of the most unethical things I've ever seen posted here. :angry:
Infinity IL10's and a yamaha receiver is my choice, but whatever works for you.
I would go to a store that allows me to return a speaker set up for a full refund, purchase the system there, try it out in home and if I like how it sounds, return it to the store and get it for a discount from the neighbor.
Tell me about it, I probably should have gone with Polk Speakers or Paradigm, but the IL10's are just so attractive aesthetically, and they sound great.
Seriously though, taking a system home is imo the most accurate way to find the best system for the room, and to add more gray area, some retail franchises encourage a return and/or offer a full refund on stereo equipment within 14 days of purchase or even a trade in for another peice of stereo equipment within a year of purchase. Circuit City comes to mind, don't know if they offer this option in all locations.
Maybe this can help. It has reviews on a lot of peices of equipment.
I often return to that site way back when I was shopping around for a separate component system, and I was mainly concerned with three things: THD, frequency range, and power. Then there is magnetic shielding if you place the speakers near a television or computer, materials used for the speakers, the list goes on.