My thinking was that the rear speakers, firing away in another location, don't contribute much and could actually muddy things up. I do not have DSP, so there is no rear ambience to worry about. I came across an article once where some of the show-sound people were going for front speakers only, but a big open X might be different.

I think my system is loud enough, but could use a little more clarity, and replacing the head unit in an X is more than I want to do. The fader was just an idea, especially if the power that normally was shared with the rear speakers was all sent to the front ones. I don't know if the X amp would work like that. The rear speakers could be disconnected, but using the fader would be easier and the next owner would have a sorta-stock system.

As far as the money part is concerned, saving money is fine with me, but I actually thought the sound might be at least equal.

Any ideas appreciated.

BTW, speaking of interesting architecture, I went to the Getty Museum in LA. Took the tours (one of the guides was worth a tour all by herself...) sigh. Very interesting gardens as well.