Help on new Home Theater build (I know so little!) :)

[idos]

Hi guys!

I'm new to this forum, and I'm in the market for a budget HT system with 2 or 3 speakers. I'm basically just trying to setup something that will sound good for movie watching on my tv (Samsung 46FS5000). I *think* I found some great deals to make it work and I really wanted to get some expert input, since I don't know much at all about this issue.
(I'm not allowed to post links so I'll just give the website).
These are the setups I was considering:

Setup 1 (budget choice):
1 X [Pioneer SP-FS51-LR Floorstanding Loudspeakers (pair) - Amazon $139

OR

2 X JBL 180 Floorstanding speakers - newegg $158 together
(these speakers seem to be better quality, but I'm not really sure. They are slightly weird looking).

AND

1 X Yamaha Natural Sound Stereo Receiver (R-S201BL) - Amazon $149

Setup 2 (more expensive choice)

Here I'm really not sure what to pick from what I found.
This will include either of the two tower speakers from before.
I saw some receivers which all looked comparable:
Onkyo-TX-SR313 - Amazon $179
Denon AVR-E300 - Amazon $249
Yamaha RX-V377 - Amazon $249

And thought about adding a subwoofer or a center speaker (not sure which one works best with 2 tower speakers):
Subwoofer: Polk Audio PSW10 - Amazon $91
Center: Polk CSR BLACK 2-way black center - Amazon $99

So, finally, my question is: Can I make do with the budget setup for my purposes? Or should I upgrade using one of these items? Or are there any other items in this price range that could work better?

Thanks alot!!

 

[CrocodileAV]

Hi,
I would suggest if you only wanted a couple of speakers to invest in the floorstanders and a subwoofer. In my early days of building my first system I couldn't afford everything I wanted so I purchased in stages. I started with decent floorstanders and then added the sub and so on and so forth until I had a full blown system. Alternatively go for a 5.1 sub satellite pack and put your choice of av receiver on it. At an entry level price point your floorstanders will be very similar in performance so it may come down to an aesthetic choice. They are both rear ported so I suggest not putting them in corners of your room if you can help it. Regarding the receiver I would be inclined to go with the Denon.

Cheers

 

[theJman]

If you have a 2.0 system all you're really doing is making the TV louder, you won't derive any benefits from the advanced sound effects of the movies you watch. In order to do that you would need a 3.1 system at minimum, which is 3 speakers (left, center, right) and a subwoofer. With 2 capable speakers and a good AVR you could set up a 'phantom' center, but a sub is still required.

 

[ARES24]

A budget oriented system would be a good sub and a pair of bookshelf speakers.

Let us know your total budget.