Finally taking the plunge into HD world, need advice! NEW BUDGET: $900

[vanillacena]

Hey everyone,
I'm currently switching bedrooms and making my old room a home theater, so I need some advice in the audio aspect of things
I wasn't quite sure where to ask, so I came to good ol' Tom's Hardware.
As of right now, I have a 37" Vizio 720p LC tv, a high-end gaming PC, and an xbox360. I also use Directv as my television provider if that even matters..

Anyways, I'm happy with my television as of right now (besides the fact that I picked the 720p one instead of the 1080p...damn Best Buy...) What I am more interested in is a 7.1 or 5.1 surround sound set up. I've been doing some research but a lot of it is very confusing to me. I'm a PC guy personally and this is uncharted territory to me.

I have a small room, about 15' x 14'. I've read that a 5.1 set-up would be better for this as opposed to a 7.1. However, I think I should get a 7.2 receiver to allow for future upgrades (two more speakers and an extra sub-woofer), what do you guys think..and on that note, which would you recommend? I also want a receiver that will allow the audio signal to pass through the HDMI wire, because that's the only way to achieve true 7.1, am I right?

I don't know if this is relevant, but my step-father gave me some old equipment he had (which I've had hooked up to my PC for years), from what I can see its a Gemini MX-2200 mixer, a Gemini Triton SAS-505 amplifier, and two 3' tall rhino speakers which have no model markings I can see. Would any of this be usable with a surround sound system, maybe the speakers? Could they temporarily be used as my 6th and 7th speakers?

I'd really appreciate any input you guys could give me. To summarize it all, I guess I'm looking for a 7.2 receiver (best I can get for my money, future-proof if possible),and a set of speakers to go with it. My budget for audio is $1,100. I have another $900 I can use if its absolutely needed for an amazing sound system. As you can see, I'm a picky person and I HAVE to have the absolute best of everything. Unfortunately, I don't have all the money in the world, so I have to curb this addiction lol.

Thank you all for your help!

EDIT: I've been looking at the ONKYO HTS9100THX 7.1 Channel Home Theater System, what do you guys think of this? Are home theaters in a box a wise purchase? I can get this in an Open Box deal from 500 on newegg or for 699.99 refurbed on ac4l.

or this

http/www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4770369&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=izWMWx.IVSU-FZdsGWF2JLVH4jLXQRV_uw

 

[cjl]

HTIB is not the way to go, IMHO. Buy the receiver and speakers separately. For recievers, I personally like Denon, but Onkyo is a good choice as well. I have a Denon 2808 (a bit out of your price range), and I love it. The Denon 1910, 1709, or 1610 models would work great for you though (depending on what features you wanted and how much you wanted to pay). I'm not as familiar with the Onkyo line, but I'm sure they have several comparable $300-$500 receivers. For speakers, it's a slight stretch with your budget, but the best in that price range that I know of are the SVS S-series. They sell a full 7.1 channel speaker setup (without a receiver) for around $1100, and it blows away most stuff on the market in that price range. It also includes an excellent subwoofer, which is something sorely lacking from most cheaper setups (most of them have a sub that's overly loud and muddy in the upper bass, and doesn't have a hope of hitting the lower bass notes at all).

http/svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm

Overall, for this setup, you'd end up spending around $1500, and it would be far better than that onkyo HTIB that you linked to.

 

[vanillacena]

Unfortunately, my budget has been lowered due to family issues. I can't spend more than $900 now. I've done more research since I've posted this topic, and I have great interest in the Onkyo 607 receiver. Can you guys recommend any nice looking/sounding speakers to go with it? Preferably black and 7.1. Thank you for the effort cjl, but my budget just won't allow that build

 

[cjl]

That's too bad. As far a 7 channel goes, I'd lean towards higher quality 5 channel instead for that budget. Actually, I'd probably get the 5.0 set of these, and something like a Denon AVR-590, with the intent of adding a subwoofer later at some point. That would come to $919, and still sound great. The Onkyo 607 looks like a great choice as well, but it's a bit more expensive than the Denon 590, and if you are constrained to $900, you really want to focus on the speakers as much as possible. Alternatively, you could go with a 2.1 setup (temporarily), and then expand it out to surround later.

 

[jimbowne]

I personally just bought the pioneer 819h with Acesonic 510 speakers for my new 5.1 system. It has worked great for me thus far. Why not consider the pioneer 919? It is a 7.2 receiver and I've seen it online for around 350. As for speakers I would stick with a 5.1 setup that can later be upgraded. The pioneer 919 and the Acesonic 510 set will run you around $620. The only problem is that the subwoofer it comes with is passive so you will need a seperate amp to run it. Even so it is a great 5.0 setup for the time being.

I would strongly recommend getting a pioneer