I'm looking for some advice on setting up a home theater system that can double as a sound system for parties.

I've got a 57" Sony HD and it is begging for a surround sound system -- but I'm still using the television speaker. I'm sure that's the functional equivalent of sacrilege around here. Sorry.

Anyway, I'm concerned that, if I go with a "Home Theater in a Box", I won't get a big enough sound to fuel a house party -- ideally, I'd like to cover both of these bases with one system.

I did pick up a pair of used Polk tower speakers and an Onkyo amp, each 5+ years old, but managed to melt the amp and blow the speakers when someone pegged the volume... I'll put the new one somewhere inaccessible, but I would like a high tolerance and for it to comfortably kick out tunes for 7-8 hours without a fear of failure.

If you need any more information to give me some guidance or have any suggested reading for me (What is an amp? What is a watt? I have no idea), please send it over. Also, if anyone has any good ideas for sourcing this equipment (I live in Washington, DC), that would also be helpful.

Oh -- if I could manage to keep things in the $500-$600 dollar range, that would be ideal, but I could probably stomach $1000.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing you responses. I'll upload some pictures when it all comes together.

Alex

ill give you a basic meaning from what i know, an amp(short for amplifier) increases the power that is being sent to your speakers, a watt is a measurement of the power that is being sent to your speakers, i dont know if youll be able to get a setup powerful enough to fuel a house party, but for ht and loud music im sure the new onkyo HT-SR800 might do the trick although not for house parties. but other then that you may want to check out a a dj qualityy system for house parties...my .02

I'd look at some mid-range PA equipment if you want an 8-hour party.
Try some Crown amps and Peavey or JBL speakers.
An alternative is to go with powered monitors, like Mackie 624 or 824, plus a matching sub; that's a little more towards the home theater and less of the party filler, but they are still designed to run continuously. Another brand of powered speakers I really like (but expensive!) is Genelec.
The nice thing about powered monitors is that you can't really "blow" them -- all the good quality brands have built-in protection.