Older Sony Receiver (1 Viewer)

Hi guys,
I've been lurking for few weeks now and have made a few decisions. Number 1, I think I'll stick with my Sony
STR-DE615 Receiver. It has Dolby 5.1 and now I just need to add some good speakers and a subwoofer. Any guidance and / or feedback on this item will be appreciated. I have been searching for the "proper" hookup of the A/V cables, but alas, there is little to be had on the web, and Sony is certainly no help.
As far as the TV goes, I have been waiting for the plasmas to come down in price, but I am now interested in HD front projection. Views anyone?
My current system:
Sharp 35" standard TV (forgot the model #..from Costco 2001)
Sony STR-DE615 Receiver
Sony VHS player (Model#??? circa 2001)
Sonic-Blue Combo DVD-VCR Player (for x-mas this yr.)
2 Aiwa Speakers from an old "All in one" hi-fi system.

Here's the deal. I don't have much to spend. I want to concentrate on the audio portion this year and then maybe go for the gusto at x-mas with a plasma or similar. I'll appreciate all input. THANKS!

I was in a very similar situation to you when I first really started into home theater a number of years ago. I had a Sony receiver (an STR-DB930) and a set of Aiwa bookshelves, a little aiwa sub and a set of Sony bookshelves for surround. It was a very marginal setup at best. It didn't take me long to hurry up and get a good set of mains and a little later a good center so I know where you're coming from.

First thing we need to know is percentage of music and movies. If you listen to a significant amount of music on the system, it will probably pay to pump a little more money into your mains. If you listen to little or no music, you may want to save the extra money and buy just a set of 5 sattelites or bookshelves.

Also, what sort of budget range are you in? "Not a lot of money" to you may be a lot of money to me or vice versa.

Also, what size room are you talking? If you're in too large a room you may be forced away from smaller satelite type speakers.

Adam, Thanks for the reply.
Music: I listen to ALOT of music, from Jazz to Classical to Heavy Metal. HOWEVER, since my wife gave birth to twin girls 18 months ago, my music listening has been reduced to headphones and in the car type stuff. Movies: We do watch alot of movies, probably 3-4 per week. I have Direct TV with an Ultimate TV receiver, so movie sound would be my priority. My budget range is around $300 now(Subwoofer and speakers) and around $3000 later this year (Plasma/projection/HDTV). The family room is approx. 15 x 25, with the entertainment center facing the 15' direction.
Again, thanks for your help.

Jay,
I'm not going to get real brand specific on you as I'm a little out of touch with what equipment presents a good value in this pricerange.

Thankfully, you're not filling a concert hall sized room or anything so a good set of satelites are not out of the question.

If you're out to get the whole 5.1 setup now, this will limit your options. If pressed to reccomend a solution anywhere near your price range, I would really push you toward the Energy Take 5+1 system which can be had for around $500 on the net. I realize that's still a fair peice more than you were shooting for but if you could come up to that price, I think you'd find it a very adequate solution for your situation. Again, I'm not real familiar with with the full 5.1 packages in the $300 range although I know they are out there. I'm sure someone will chime in here shortly who knows better than I do about these.

If you're not fixed on acheiving 5.1 immediately, this would open your options up a little bit. There are many brands of nice bookshelf size speakers to be had in the $100 to $150 price range. This would leave enough then for a small sub to back them. If you went this route, you could also shift your current Aiwa speakers to surround for the time being so you wouldn't be without real surround sound.

Also, if you're handy with tools or not afraid of a little woodworking, you might do well to look at some of the bookshelf speaker kits that are out there from places like parts express. A lot of people find this to be an excellent way to get much higher end speakers for their money. But even building your own, you probably won't be able to swing 5.1 because of the audience (and price range) that kits are generally targeted at.

Sorry I can't be more specific in what models or speakers to check out. In your position though, I think I would be more interested in going full 5.1 now since you can't really make use of really "badass" speakers for your music right now anyway. You and your wife can enjoy your movies and then in a few years when those girls are a little older, you could find your way to a nice pair of musical mains that can do justice to that classical and jazz.

I'd put the $300 toward a decent set of main speakers. You'll be happier during those stolen moments when you can listen to 2-channel music, and you can still enjoy your movies, although not necessarily in 5.1. My philosophy: I'd rather 'listen' to my movies through 2 decent channels than 5.1 subpar channels.

You can add the rest of your setup later.