Noobie alert: Please excuse the basicness of this question. I have a lot of experience with 2 channel hifi but none with home theater.

Currently I have two sealed 2-way speakers with 8 inch woofers which I love for stereo and hope to expand into a home theater system.

I want to buy (actually build) 5 satellite speakers, buy a Denon 1908 receiver and use the audessey set up to form a 7 speaker surround system with the big speakers providing the low frequencies. That way I can switch to the main 2 speakers for clean stereo music.

The bass does not need to be earth-shaking, so will such a set up perform well?

Thanks!

It would depend on your speakers and what specs the manufacturer lists for low frequency extension...I would guess, only guess, that for most things, 8" woofers would be ok. You will not get all of the bass (lfe) in a movie soundtrack by any stretch, but you should get decent, hit you in the chest bass that will work pretty good for movies and great for most music IMO.

with satellites sub is a must

I think you would find that adding a sub will dramatically improve your home theater experience. Since you are building satellite speakers, why not consider also building a sub?

Seek advice on the DIY forum:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&f=155

I use to build my own subs back in the early 70's before anybody was really marketing them. It was lotsa fun.

I remember some of the first subs to arrive were Dahlquist and the M&K Volkswoofer. They were very expensive even way back then.

Thanks guys. The reason i dont want to use a sub is that I have not heard a sub-sat system that works as well with music as my stereo speakers.

As long as the surround sound is balanced I will be happy - no earth shaking bass required. The range of the stereo speakers works well enough for me in a two channel set up. I just want to expand to surround.

Your in the wrong forum. ;-) Unless you have a serious budget issue or just don't have the space in-room to fit a sub, I'd highly encourage you to buy one for HT. There are plenty of good values out there that don't cost much and add a lot to the HT experience.

I'm mainly a 2-channel type of guy also BTW.

I couldn't imagine a home theater system without a sub. I don't think even a good 8" woofer could compete or get nearly as low as a even a moderate subwoofer.

If you don't like the sub for music, you could always set up your receiver to only use the full range mains for stereo and turn the sub off when not in surround (movie) mode.

How 'bout this. Build your five speakers and then decided. That's the only absolute way of knowing what your tastes are. For the most part, everyone in here and in the DIY forum are bass-hungry fiends. It's like posting in the Ferrari forum, wondering if you even need a car :)

If after you have your 7.0 system running and you find you need a sub, great! We'll see you in the DIY forum. But if you build one and find you don't need it, nor do you want it, you can't unbuild it. Just my thought.