Hi,

First time poster here - been reading the forums for the past month or so but didn't register.

A bit of sonic information - currently I'm running Epos M5 with Audioquest speaker cables (cv-8), with the Exposure 2010s integrated amplifier and an Onix CD-5 player, using Supra EFF-I as interconnects. I listen to mostly rock (Foo Fighters, NIN, Nirvana, Dream Theater, Smashing Pumpkins), electronica/instrumental (Massive Attack, Apocalyptica, Rob Dougan, etc), and a bit of hard bop jazz (Lee Morgan). My living room/listening area is about 9' x 13' (this is considered large already among average apartments here), left side is half-wall and half-window, right side is open (dining room).

Recently I've been told that vintage JBLs would be very suitable for the music I listen to - so I've been scouting around in Hong Kong (where I currently live, though I am from LA/San Diego originally) for some old school JBLs, and it seems like I might be getting a pair of L-100s (not sure whether they are Century or not), and I'll be auditing it at the shop with my amplifier in early March. Home audits are simply not available here because dealers think it's a waste of time, and because transportation/parking is difficult and costly.

I've got a few questions regarding the equipment I should use if I end up getting the L-100s...

Stands - I've seen some people here put them on full-blown speaker stands (around 24"), but I've also seen users who put them on very short stands (maybe 10"). Some simply treat them as floorstanders and just place them on spikes (with plates in between of course).

Amplifier - Most people in HK seems to think that "McIntosh + JBL = Match Made in Heaven", and googling revealed that this is true to a certain degree, as there is a good amount of testimonials (here and on other forums) supporting this. Should I be looking into eventually getting a McIntosh amp, or should I stick with my Exposure 2010s (75w x2), and maybe get the power amp from them (also 75w x2) if I feel that the integrated alone is inadequate?

Cables - I chose Audioquest in the first place because out of all the major cable brands here they seem be better at bass response. Other prominent brands in HK are Tara Labs, XLO, Van de Hul, Voodoo, and Analysis Plus. What are some other brands that you guys would recommend? I will see if it's possible to find them here.

Anyway, sorry about the long post - just wanted to know more about this sort of thing before I take the plunge. Any response is appreciated =)