New to HT...budget apartment setup?

Noya

I've never listened to either of these, so I have no clue. This will be my first home theater / non-boombox lol. I finally bought a new TV (yes, a cheap Vizio, but I got it for $850 - GV 42" 1080p), and I can't stand the TV speakers when listening to 5.1 material. Plus, the silver speakers are detachable for a cleaner look.

Option 1 -
Refurb (w/warranty) Onkyo HT-SR800 for $286 shipped (retail is $475-500). This system uses the same sr505 receiver below.
http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=HT-SR800&class=Systems&p=i

Option 2 -
$160 shipped - Refurb Onkyo SR-505
http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR505&class=Receiver&p=i
$220 shipped - Polk CSR, 4 x R150's
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/center/csr/
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/bookshelf/r150/
$199 shipped - JBL 12" subwoofer
http://jbl.com/home/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=P12SW&Language=ENG&Country=US&Region=USA&cat=SUB&ser=PER
For a total of $579

Option 3 (not really- lacking $$$, but man do the Monitors look nice in the pics) -
$160 - Onkyo sr505
$199 - JBL 12"
$113 - Polk Monitor CS1
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/center/cs1/
$225 - Polk Monitor 40's
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/bookshelf/monitor40/
$65 - Polk R150 (surround)
Total = $762



They had an HT-SR800 on display at CC the other day for $499, and I have to admit the speakers looked quite cheap. It apparently wasn't hooked up or something because it wouldn't turn on...so I haven't heard it. And they don't carry Polk speakers. They claimed they used to, but have since switched to, umm, Boston Acoustics.

Keep in mind that I am living in an apartment and will be for the next few years until I'm done with school. So is the better system worth double the price in an apartment?

lockmart

I'll go for number two, it's a matched set (sub doesn't matter) and the R's will be leaps and bounds over the HTIB speakers. If it's worth it or not is up to you, should sound better at lower volumes too. You might consider a cheapy sub like the HTIB comes with to shave $100 off if it comes down to budget (and your apt).