I have really enjoyed the CDM1s i have owned for most of the last decade but the center channel went out on me and I am thinking about upgrading now. I like the sound as well as the look and style of the speakers which is really important my wife. That said this is a major expense and I need to have an open mind and look at some other brands before I buy for the next decade. I am currently looking at CM9's with a cm 2 center. Can anyone provide advice on other choices ?
I have a large basement with a home theater . There are no doors on the room and stairs that lead to the second floor. I use a rythmik sub with the CDM1's currently Below are my priorities in order. Id love to see some options in the in a similar price range, some more cost effective alternatives and some direct from the manufacture alternatives if possible. I currently power the system with a Denon AVR-891 and realize some of the options I am looking at will require a different power option, please feel free to recommend something cost effective here as well since I am really hitting the walls of the budget on this.
I have included a couple images of the room so you can see what I am working with . It is far from an ideal sound stage

I have a large basement with a home theater . There are no doors on the room and stairs that lead to the second floor. I use a rythmik sub with the CDM1's currently Below are my priorities in order. Id love to see some options in the in a similar price range, some more cost effective alternatives and some direct from the manufacture alternatives if possible. I currently power the system with a Denon AVR-891 and realize some of the options I am looking at will require a different power option, please feel free to recommend something cost effective here as well since I am really hitting the walls of the budget on this.
- Clean accurate sound for music at the high end of reference levels
- The speakers themselves have to be attractive and something the wife wont kill me for putting in the room. This means not too large and no futuristic styling.
- Solid for home theater. While this is important it is absolutely third.
I have included a couple images of the room so you can see what I am working with . It is far from an ideal sound stage