Is this a good HT combination?

[Bandius]

This is my first home theater build and wanted to run this by knowledgable people such as yourselves before I bought anything. I'm looking to spend about $1600 on a 5.1 system (the fiance doesnt want speakers affecting furniture arrangements so I told her I wouldnt buy the side speakers.....yet). She wants it for rock music and regular radio stations and I want it for movies.

We have a 42" Sony Bravia that i sometimes run my computer on via S-video & L/R RCA jacks to watch old episodes of lost, southpark and also stream netflix movies. I also plan on buying a playstation for gaming and Blueray.

my thoughts were to purchase:

Reciever - Yamaha RX-V465 for $300
Center - Klipsch Reference Series RC-52 for $330
L/R - pair of JBL ES80's for $600
Subwoofer - no idea

our living room is 19'x12' with hardwood floors with a couple couches and a chair, along with the 4'w x 1.5'L x 1.5'h tv stand, all of wich she moves around like she's trying to unluck a rubix cube . We are set on floorstanding speakers as we were raised on generic desktop stereo's and want more OOMPH. I was hoping i could set the tv on the substantially sized Klipsch RX-V863 to appease the fiance's fear of speaker clutter, and maybe someday buy wireless rear speakers.

I'm kind of bummed that the Yamaha RX-V465 wont accept my Svideo to make input switching all done by the reciever, but maybe i can find a different graphics card and cable or a converter of some sort to plug into the yamaha.

Is this a good combination of reciever and speakers? right $ ratio?
What size subwoofer should i get, what brand, what model?
Can i use the 2 channels i'm not using to add power to the floorstand speakers?

Thanks for any help you can offer, even if its to tell me i'm an idiot and to recommend a totally different setup! $1600 is alot of money to me.

 

[ljaggers]

I don't think the center speaker you listed exists. It is the model # for a Yamaha receiver. Do you have the right model #?

 

[Bandius]

Klipsch Reference Series RC-52, sorry copy/paste typo!

 

[Knucklehead90]

I would buy either the Klipsch matching L/R speakers or the ES center to match the ES80 mains. You don't want to mix n match the front sound stage.

For a sub check out Velodyne - Elemental Designs - HSU - SVS.

The ES80s are a great set of speakers for rock music.

 

[Bandius]

so is the Klipsch Reference series more geared towards Movies and the JbL ES geared more towards music? I guess that was my impression and why I mixed and matched them. I was going soley off reviews andby the way it sounded the klipsch center had more lifelike voice sounds and the JBL towers had impressive everything...the problem with the JBL center is it's sloped back on top and doesnt look like i could stand my tv on it, and the Klipsch towers don't have the most glowing reviews.With either of these systems is there a certain sized sub I should be looking at?

Is it a bad idea not to get the center channel if I go with the JBL's? I'd heard most of your tv's sounds pass through the center. Or should I be looking at another brand to drop $1600 on for the 2.1 setup i'm looking for?

 

[Kai]

Hi Bandius,
I'll throw in my 2 cents.
First the Yamaha 465 is a decent receiver and will power pretty much any speakers you buy in the budget range you describe. The receiver will do a fine job whether listening to music, tv or movies.

The speakers on the other hand are the key to your system and basically every system whether a modest budget or money is no object.

Were I in your shoes I'd buy the best sounding 2.1 system I could get with the remaining $1300 from your $1600 budget. You can get a lot of speakers for the money and don't be afraid to negotiate with the salesperson...the economy is still not good and a customer with cash money commands a lot of attention.

I'm going to start by saying I'm a Paradigm fanboy...for the money and my ears they are a great speaker and they have some very nice speakers for those on a budget. They are also very nice looking speakers.
Perhaps their new SE3 would do the job for you though the cost for a pair is around $1200. Their Monitor line is great and the cost is moderate. Perhaps their Titan would do the trick and you would have enough for a 10" or 12" sub.
Here is a link to Paradigm: http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/news/

Speakers are a very personal choice as our ears do not pick up sound the same.
I suggest you put together a demo cd of perhaps 10 of your/wife's favorite songs and take it to some local shops. Tell them what your budget is and audition some speakers. When you find a pair that makes your ears and budget happy and meets the fashion needs you are all set.

I'm suggesting starting with a 2.1 system because you will get better quality for the money you have and you can add to it as money allows and your need grows.
Good luck and keep us informed.