Wow, What a mess!

I have no Idea where to start, so I'll just jump right into it. I have a very old yamaha receiver, with 5 speaker surround sound, and 3 cheap subs ran through a shitload of splitters! And ontop of all that, the receiver has no HDMI inputs only 2 optical ins - so I have to have a splitter there to collect sound from dvd, ps3, dvr, etc. Basically, I have a wiring mess! But truth be told, minus the quietness, it is a very good sounding system!

Anyways, I built this theater system very cheaply, and it is a nice system, but I would like to slowly start upgrading components and build it into a better theater. I figured I would start with the sound. Ideally, I want a new receiver (and something to get rid of all of the wiring mess and other people besides myself can figure out how to use my tv) new speakers, and would like to build my own sub/subs.

What kind of low/midrange priced setup would you recommend. I have found this http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...-Cat80&topnav= and it incorporates everything that I think I will need. 4 HDMI inputs, 1 out for the projector. It has good sound and an A/B switch that I need for speakers on my rear patio.

Does anyone have any recommendations/comments on that receiver? How about on a speaker/sub combination for down the road?

Thanks...

Hey thanks guys for the reccomendations. I did run everything through the wall that wasn't going to be hidden,(the projector and the front mounted speakers). Trust me, it looks much cleaner with the furniture in place.

Also, with the new receiver, I'm going to drop my additional dvd player and the psyclone switcher. So basically I will just have the PS3, DVR, and the new receiving. I am guessing that will clean up not only the wiring but should be fine without a racking system. Hell it works ok now with 5 units back there!

As for the room, yes, hardwoods and straight drywall, it is kind of echoey, but aside from maybe getting a throw rug, I spent way too much time laying those damn floors to tear em back out. Plus, I am planning on moving this year or next, i will set my next theater up more ideally.

The quietness comes from the front speakers. I think there are probably 2 culprits. 1, The couches sit about 20 feet back from the screen. And two, as I have been reading up here, I ran the front speakers with 16 or 18 guage cheapo wire. Each strand is probably 50-60 feet long. I don't know much about sound, but from reading up, I guess I should have used thicker wire.

May I ask why you suggest getting rid of a sub? I have them all turned only about 50% up, since they are cheaper subs (and probably because of the room) they are real 'punchy' when running full bore, so I basically turned them down and added more. Seems to be good sound, atleast for now....

Anyways, the plan I guess is to get the new receiver (unless someone has something bad to say about it) and upgrade the front speakers, along with re-running better wire. I think that should clear the sound up wonderfully for now and make the surround sound experience better.

Eh maybe I exxagerated. It might be 40 feet, but yes, ran them from the receiver over 5 feet to the hole in the drywall. 8 or 9 feet back up through the wall And then even though it is probably 20 feet to the front of the room, it is a raised ceiling that goes up to about 14 feet high in the apex, so maybe 25-30 feet of wiring to go up and come back down a 20' distance, plus I'm sure I left some extra wire 'just in case'. Anyways, that doesn't sound like it is as big of a problem as I thought it was.

Yep, I think I have decided new receiver to clean up the mess and add a little bit more power and cleanness, and will look into upgrading either the front 3 or all 5 speakers and perhaps get some speaker stands for the rears to get them up a little higher in the air. I will also see if I can't angle them down any, but no promises there. I guess for now I will leave the speaker wire alone, I didn't really want to get back into the attic again anyways!

As for the room, I'll look into a rug for around the couch area, but I'm not positive I want one. I guess I'll just see how it sounds with the new set up and play with it from there if I need something or not.

.......

Well crap I just went to newegg, looks like it would be about $450 for the receiver, the Polk 40's and the CS1. The price is inline with what I could spend (although from the reviews it sounds like the speakers go on sale every other week so maybe i wait) but The size and weight of those 40's and the center, Im not sure it would work with my current set up. It would be about 40 pounds of weight to hang up plus my screen, and I have no idea how I would fasten it to my current mount, its almost like I'd have to either sit them on the floor with wires dangling or else start from scratch with new mounts, etc. hmmmmm

I also see where they are doing a close out on the monitor 50's floor speaker. $85 each, could solve that problem for $20 extra. Thoughts?

Last one! For $514.00 I can basically re-do everything. Polk Monitor 50's up front, CS1 in the middle, and Polk 30's for my rear, all in cherry, and along with a Pioneer VSX-821-K 5.1-Channel 3D Ready A/V Receiver. For $500, that (to me, a newby) seems like a pretty great deal. Better than buying one out of a box for $500 id imagine. Thoughts? I'm about to pull the trigger...

Alright, I'm really wanting to do it. I do have one question though. On my current system, I'll bet I get 70% sound out of my center speaker alone. Maybe 10% out of the other fronts and 5% out of the rears. My question, with the new receiver and speakers, should I expect this to change? I guess I'm looking at it, Like if I spend $250 for the 4-corner speakers, and $70 for the center speaker, doesn't that seem wrong if the center speaker is doing most of the work? Is there a way to calibrate a system like this to optimal surround sound and equal things out?

Well I think doing the new set up, the polk monitor 50's on the floor would solve all of those problems in one. Off the ceiling, angled properly, new speakers, and new receiver. Should solve all the problems!

Ordered. Whew, been a while since I spent money on something other than necessities.... Hope it turns out awesome!

Wow newegg has some stellar shipping. Was tracking them all day they arrived in indianapolis this morning at about 8 am. I was crossing my fingers all day that they would throw em on a truck and send them out for 1 day delivery...but no dice. I even called down to UPS to see if i could drive about 20 minutes and pick them up but they said no! Damnet, could have hooked it up all weekend, but I guess theyll be here monday.

Today is the day! Im guessing this will be the longest, most drawn out workday in a long time!

Been tracking them all day, still not delivered. Have a note on the door for a neighbor to sign if they need a signature, but still nothing yet. Like I said, this day is craaaawling along.

As for not stacking anything, I will be wittling down my little 'tower' with this new receiver. All I will have will be the receiver, the DVR, and the PS3. The PS3 is upright and has been for a while now, so all I will have is the receiver and the DVR to stack. I may see if the dvr fits on the bottom of the pile (since its rented for $8 a month, thanks comcast) if not I may look into a little stand or wire cage to try and get it up off the receiver a little bit.

It's heeeeeeeere