HT Speaker Advice

Mark?!

Hi. First post here. Just built a new house, and looking to set up a 5.1 system to complement my new 58" plasma. Due to the WAF, I need to use bookshelf speakers at the front, and in ceiling speakers for the surrounds. The fronts will sit in a recessed areas about 15" deep, 3' wide and 2'6" tall, about 18" off the ground, on each side of the TV. The TV and center speaker will be in a larger recessed area. The TV viewing area is about 12' wide by 15' deep, but it's in the middle of a much larger open area (33' wide by 26' deep). Not very theater-ish, and probably not ideal for speaker placement, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

All I have been able to listen to locally are the TSi200s (and the floor standing TSis and the LSi15s, but I don't think they will fit on the shelves!), so option #1 (the wallet friendly option) is:

TSi200 - fronts
CS10 - center (or CS20?)
RC60i - surrounds (or RC80i?)
Some sort of sub.

As you can tell, my first question is how to size the center and surrounds, based on using the 200s for the fronts. Is bigger always better, or does that risk overwhelming the fronts?

Option #2, at 2.5+ times the price of option #1, is:

RTi A3 - fronts
CSi A4 - center (A6?)
TC60i - surrounds (80i?)
Some sort of sub.

The biggest jump in price for this is the surrounds, so could I get away with the less expensive RCs with this option? Again, any opinions on the size of the center and surrounds? BTW, I'm deaf in one ear, so the whole surround stuff is for the wife/friends - I am more interested in clarity, especially of vocals in movies.

I am thinking of the Onkyo TX-SR608 for a receiver, since the TV is 3D capable so the HDMI 1.4a support may be useful.

Any suggestions on a sub? The PSW505 seems like a good deal at the moment, but it's pretty large. What else should I look at?

So, is option #2 worth the extra money. This will mainly be for TV/movie watching, with some music listening. The last system I had was an ancient stereo tuner with a pair of Infinity Reference 5s, so I am basically stepping up from the built-in speakers for TV watching and am obviously a clueless noob when it comes to this modern stuff!

OK, back to reading the other million posts, but I look forward to any insight and wisdom anyone can provide.

Thanks,
Mark

packetjones

Welcome to the CP.

I would personally recommend the RTiA setup as that is what I have. If you can fit the A6 i would definitely go with the larger center. The surrounds are not as important as the front 3.