Suggestions for building a 3.1 system?

I'm looking to build a 3.0 or 3.1 sound system. A 5.1 system isn't feasible in the living room, because my wife's really particular on the decoration of the room. Because of this, the speakers must be really small as well. I've been a Klipsch fan for years now, and my whole house is outfitted with Klipsch speakers, so I'd like to stick to that trend.

Right now I'm thinking about getting 2 Klipsch Quintet bookshelf speakers, along with a Klipsch C-10 center speaker. The room these will go in is an average-sized living room, and it's mostly used for watching TV and movies. Are the speakers good choices for this type of usage?

Besides those three speakers, I need a receiver that'll power them, and maybe a smaller subwoofer. The reciever needs to be very small, as space in the cabinet is limited, but also has to be able to power those three speakers. The ability to be upgraded to 5.1 isn't important, because that'll probably never happen. I want as little as I can possibly get that'll sufficiently power the speakers. As for the subwoofer, it just needs to be small. I may not get the sub right away, but it's in the radar. Any suggestions?

I don't have any maximum dimensions I can give you, as the smaller size is for aesthetic reasons, not for lack of space. I'd just like everything on the smaller side. The only place where space is an issue is the A/V receiver, but again there aren't any dimensions I can give you, just as small as possible. The room is just an average sized living room, not big, but not small either. Budget isn't an issue, I just want a good sounding system.

It doesn't have to shake the room, just a little low-end would be fantastic. Also, do you have any experience with the speakers you linked? How do they sound? I don't usually like buying speakers without listening to them myself, but I'd settle for a recommendation in this case. Also, I dig the receivers you linked. I love how small they are, but they still look fully functional. I'll most likely go with one of those.


First of all, please don't insult my wife. She's a professional decorator, she can do whatever she wants to the house. The living room isn't for immersive watching, that's what the basement's for (believe me, I have my awesome system down there). The goal of the living room is to upgrade the speakers so they at least sound better than the crappy ones inside the TV. If I can get a clear, clean, undistorted sound, then that's all I need for that room.

Lastly, does anyone have any comments on the Klipsch speakers I mentioned in the first post? They've gotten good reviews from what I've read, but I'd still like to hear some comments about them. Thanks for all the help so far!