Novice speaker help

[sab7896]

I'm sure this is an easy question for most of you but the more I research the more confused I become. I have a 11' x 13' bonus room that I'm going to furnish w/ a TV, stereo and in-ceiling speakers. I want to play both the stereo system and the TV through the speakers. I'm thinking about mounting 2 speakers on each side of the room. The ceiling is sloped so the speakers would be 7' to 8' off the floor and aimed to the center of the room. I'm not going for a surround sound affect when I play the TV throught the speakers... I just want to fill the room w/ the sound instead of having it come from a single source. I'll admit that I don't know much about choosing speakers or a receiver and I would appreciate any help you guys can provide. I'm willing to spend up to $300 on speakers and $200 or so on a receiver. What's my best options for speakers, receiver, power ratings for both, wiring, etc. To summarize, I want to purchase 4 in-ceiling speakers (unless 4 would be overkill for this room) and a receiver to play both stereo and TV through while staying under $500 total.

I apologize for the simplicity of my questions but appreciate any advice you guys can provide.

 

[zieglj01]

In-ceiling speakers can be under-kill for that room. Music and TV can
sound better, with at least on-wall or bookshelf speakers > 2 channel
or 3 channel. Do not under estimate what so called single source front
channel speakers can do. Good ones can project some decent imaging
and sound staging. The last thing that I would do up front is in-ceiling.

 

[sab7896]

Thanks for the reply. I have heard that in-ceiling speakers are not the best option and I understand why. I guess what I'm considering the ceiling in this case isn't exactly overhead... it's a sloped ceiling. The ceiling begins to slope up about 5 feet from the floor. So while these speakers would technically be in the ceiling, they'd only be 6 or 7 ft off the ground and aiming towards the center of the room. Is that still not a good way of doing it? I suppose I could mount them in the wall... 2 on the back wall and one each on the side walls. But given the low ceiling they could only be 4' or so high.

What's the best way to wire these speakers? Tie all 4 together in a combination of series/parallel, wire the 2 lefts together and the 2 rights together in either series or parallel, or keep all 4 separate and have 4 inputs? What power rating should I shoot for? 100W for both the speakers and the receiver?

 

[sab7896]

I suppose my wiring question is directed towards how to wire 4 speakers in stereo... do I need to keep them separate left to right?