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RE: unrelenting (and it's not falling on deaf ears)

Yeah, I usually do that too. I like to go for the sweet point -- the point at which you get most of the performance without paying the disproportionate price premium of the top model. Or sometimes even go entry level, if it gets to the point where the technology has filtered down enough (a DLP projector for $700, forex).

I also took to hear the advice of a friend who said "buy last year's state of the art." OK, so he takes that to extremes, he's still running a pair of KLH-9's and a D-76. But I'm of the belief that if you're willing to spend a few hours gluing wires and replacing electrolytics, you can come within a stone's throw of $100,000 audio for maybe $6000.

Re upgrading everything else, I guess I'm of the old speaker is more important than anything else school, which is to say I'd think in terms of downgrading everything else so I could afford the speakers rather than the other way around. As long as you aren't using crappy or undersized electronics I think you get more bang for your speaker buck. The difference between good amps is subtle, bi amping is subtle, speaker stands are subtle, but the difference between speakers is in your face.
There used to be a rule of thumb, devote 50% of your budget to the speakers and 50% to everything else, although of course it's just a rule of thumb and as everyone knows Maggies require more amp than your typical dynamic, and offer more bang for the buck than cones, so it's reasonable for the proportions to change some. I listened to my 1-D's happily for years with nothing more than a Hafler (albeit I was in the near field because my room was too small so they were probably equivalent in clean SPL to a 500 W/ch amp at a more reasonable distance). It's not something I'd do today, but I think it's a good illustration of the fact that speakers matter most (not that Haflers weren't good amps when their components were still in spec).

Also, it's easier to pack and ship an amp than a speaker when you do decide to upgrade.

But, honestly, while I have the intuitive sense that as great as they are the 3.6's aren't quite in balance with what you're doing here, I don't think we should try to convince you. What I do think is that you should give the 20.1's a listen before you decide yourself where the tradeoffs should fall. If they blow you away, maybe you'll want to shift your priorities, if not, you'll be doubly sure that you made the best choice.

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