speaker suggestions please! (1 Viewer)

[kyutaek]

I have Sony 36' HS510 HD ready Tube TV and Onkyo SR701. I want try to set up a speaker system for
my living room (16 x 16). I am newbie to home theater system. The usage would probably be half audio/half DVD (video). My budget is little tight (about $500). I am wondering if the tight budget could have the receiver fully performed. I might have two options: to buy a home theater system package or buy them separately. For the former, I might save the money by sacrifising the performance. And, for the latter, vice versa. Is it true?
What might be a good choice if I buy a speaker package?

If it would be better to buy them separately, how can I allocate my tight budget? It would be great if you recommend each part of the system (front, center, woofer, satelite). I don't have any particular brand/model in mind. I might upgrade the indiviual part as my experience on home theater getting settled. So I might need popular brand/part which I can sell them easily with a good resale value.

Another (technical) question: Is there any difference between buying a full tower speaker and buying a bookshelf speaker in building a home theater system. Tower speakers seem to be good for decoration as well, but difficult to move/set up at smaller place (also seems to be more expensive). I think subwoofer would be the same case. The bigger (12') one seems to be better, but hard to carry/move.

I appreciate your valuable input to build my first home theater system.

 

[Jesse Sharrow]

What I recommend, and this is what I did. Is start with just 2 main speakers and get everything else later. Yeah I really want a sub, surrounds,center, etc. But I will get a much higher quality system in the end. I almost just got a home theater in a box and Im glad I didnt. Remember qaulity over quantity!

 

[SethH]

For that budget I would recommend looking at some of the small speaker packages and the picking up a used receiver. For the speakers I would recommend the Klipsch Quintets, but there are many other similar sized/priced speakers out there. Go the BestBuy, CC, and wherever else you can and listen to get an idea of what you like.

 

[BobJ]

Since you're listening to music, I second the idea of building up a system up starting with the two mains. In the long run you'll end up with a nicer system. If you cheap out now for everything, you'll just end up with the urge to upgrade right off the bat.