So we made the 2 hour trip down to Huntingdon today and demo'd the 7200SEs. My wife loved them and they didn't dissapoint from my previous audition. As mentioned we had also arranged to audition the 8000SEs, this was done in the main cinema, not ideal, the speakers are hidden behind the screen, so my wife didn't see them until after we had heard them (probably not a bad thing in retrospect). ncpl was absolutely on the money. Listen at your peril, as there is no way back. The sound stage was absolutely huge, the base was amazing, I was completely blown away.

Now I am sold on the 8000s I am seriously considering changing my plans. I was after a surround setup, but am really more concerned with the 2 channel setup so I am thinking of ditching the surround amp for the 818v3. Does anyone have any thoughts on the 2 channel capabilities of the 861v8 in comparison to the 818v3? The 861 would give me more options if I did want to add surround at a later date, but I want the best sound possible with the 8000s. I will still be having a projector in my listening room, but I think I would be happy with 2 channel sound when viewing.

Is there much difference in 2 channel perfomance between the 2?

Many thanks.