Need help in matching speakers with a receiver

Not knowing anything else but what you've typed here, I first asked myself "what speakers does he have and are they able to fill his needs, regardless of his current electronics"

If they are, then what are they and I'm sure those who know, will fill you in. If they are not able to fill your needs, then I'd suggest nothing you buy (electronics) will satisfy you.

So first, make sure you have sufficient speakers for your space & goals.

Whats your budget for speakers and a receiver?

With that kind of a budget I recommend the Onkyo TX – SR508 ($244 at Amazon). It produces high quality sound with enough power for most reasonably efficient speakers. For $400 you can get the Energy Take Classics 5.1 speakers. CNET top rated them in that price category: http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-spe...y;similarProds .

I would not get Take Classics for a 19 x 19 room. They'll get swallowed up in there.

Take a look at this package, it should fill your needs.
http://www.6ave.com/shop/product.asp...CESAVR1611JAMO

And then add a powered subwoofer. I'd spend a little extra and get the BIC F12 for $182. You'll go over your budget but you'll be happier.
http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-F1...9007255&sr=8-1

Sure you could get Polks instead but dont buy them from there. That was $199 for one speaker.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-206-_-Product

Or if you want to save money buy the Pioneer FS51 speakers which I like better than the Polks anyway.

Pioneer FS51, $199/pr
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pioneer+...fs51&cp=1&lp=1

Pioneer C21 center, $79
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pioneer+...0c21&cp=1&lp=1

That's $280 for 3 speakers. You could get those, the Bic F12 sub and the Onkyo receiver and still be around your $700 price point.

Ok. I'll try to help.

First, look at your room. If you dimensions are correct, you will want to budget (at some point) for acoustic treatments to deal with the many issues you will have with a completely square room. You can research this later if interested.

Second, how far are you going to sit from your speakers? How loud do you want to listen? Only movies, or music too?

Third, look at speaker sensitivity, nominal impedence. Both are important in choosing a receiver/amplifier. Your main speakers are 90db/watt at one meter and are a nominal 4 ohm impedence (but the manufacturer states you can use an 8 ohm receiver). So, they can get fairly loud with little power, but since they are small (they are small, by the way) they will compress before getting SUPER loud (physics of small cabinet/drivers).

So, if these are your speakers, then you will do fine with a receiver that is capable of driving a 4ohm speaker and anything over 100 watts would probably be wasted anyway. I would also ALWAYS by one superior sub over two inferior ones. So, if you can spend 600 dollars on two 300 dollar subs or one 600 dollar one...I'd choose the better one. Your room will have issues a second sub will not be able to correct.

Did I help or confuse you?

I suggest you go to your local best buy and listen to the Pioneer speakers versus the Polk TSi speakers (These replaced the monitor series, and sound just about the same) see what appeals to your ears.

While afrogt prefers the sound of the pioneers I am more of a fan of the Polks personally with my ears.

dbergs- Are you looking for $700 for 5.1 (5 speakers and subwoofer), 2.1 (2 speakers and subwoofer) or a 2.0 (2 speakers)

Personally given your budget I would recommend the Afrogt's first suggestion of the Denon AVR-1611 with the Jamo S426HCS3 5.0 speaker set with a Bic F12 subwoofer. That is probably the closest you can get to a quality 5.1 setup for $700
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There is also no real "matching" receiver to the speakers.... Especially on your low budget. Most receivers in your budget will have no problem powering the speakers that you are looking at in your budget

Sorry...forget watts for now.

Speaker sensitivity tells you how loud, or how many decibels, of sound are created by one speaker, outside, at 1m (or 3 feet in front of the speaker) with 2.83 volts applied to the speaker. Receivers, or amplifiers for that matter, don't supply watts to speakers. They supply volts...that's the job of the amp within the receiver.

The speaker driver's resistence, or impedence, factors into the calculation. All speakers' impedence fluctuates throughout the frequency spectrum. Some remain at (or above) 8 ohms, and some dip down to 2. The lower the impedence value, the harder for the power supply in the amp to continue to maintain a constant voltage. So, a speaker that dips down to 2 ohms (martin logan's larger electrostats do this) require an amp that has a big power supply to maintain a constant voltage throughout the frequency range. 4 ohm speakers are tough for receivers to drive because most receivers have small amp/power supplies and cannot continue to supply a constant voltage...they eventually shut off to prevent damage to themselves or the speaker. In your case, since you have limited funds, look for a relatively efficient speaker (90 dbs or more) and one that is 6-8 ohms so that a receiver can drive them. But, this is secondary to finding speakers that YOU enjoy listening to....not what others tell you to buy. Go out and listen to many speakers and take your time. Listen to some that are well above your price point so you can see what some truly hi-end stuff sounds like...then look for those in your price range that share similar characteristics. Go from there....

I would also start out with just 2 speakers for now so you can buy the best your budget will allow. Slowly add to the mix later.

Jamhead you are thoroughly confusing the guy... Heck you are confusing me

The answer to his question is there really isn't a need to match a receiver... especially at such a low budget. If it was $7,000 then sure cause he might be looking at 4ohm speakers and might need a 4ohm capable receiver and one with preouts for an external amp

I think you're right.....I may have scared him off....

I agree.