IDEAS - 3.1 budget system for HT movies $300-$500

Hello everyone!

I always hate to add another "help me pick my speakers for X budget thread" but I really need a place to start...

I just recently bought a house, and it has a nice finished basement room that is perfect for a nice home theater setup. Unfortunatly, as a new home owner I will be on a tight budget.

The long term plans are to have a decent sized tv/screen setup down there that will be dedicated to movies and video games (no music). For now, it will be a just be a flat screen - will be fine for now.

The first thing I want to put together is a nice 3.1 sound system.

The room is about 23 x 12 -

Stuff I already have:

Yamaha 663 receiver
Veleodyne 15 inch subwoofer (believe its rated around 250 watts)
Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Blu-Ray player etc.

I'm looking for a LCR setup i can purchase now, and later expand on to get the full 5.1 or 7.1 setup, all while utilizing the receiver and subwoofer I already have.

My budget is 300 - 500. I have no issues buying second hand stuff, eBay or classified, etc - and I have the patience to wait for the right deals.

Also, since the receiver can do 7.2 I am also considering/wonder about the fact I can add a second subwoofer to help bridge the gap between satellites/bookshelves range of sound and the rather large subwoofer I am using, if I went that route?

** I also currently have a Klipsch RCX-4 center channel that I have been getting ready to sell, but I could keep that and use that as a center if that would be a better option for me in this price range - and add onto that the LR speakers.

Other than a budget of $300 - $500, i'm pretty open. Bookshelf, sattelite or Towers, I can work with them all - just want to get some idea's of what to look into that will keep me happy for a while, as i grow into this setup.


Thanks for your time!

No issues with the sub.

I liked how it sounded for video games and movies, but I was in a smallish room and the volume was never too high. I just am not sure if that center would keep up with a decent pair of tower speakers in the larger space?

someone also mentioned for me to check out Arx A3's, although I can only seem to find them for sale on one website -

thank for the suggestions so far - I really like the look of the Polk Monitor 70.

I think they have them available at Best Buy here so I will be able to listen to them - But i'm not sure if they have anything else listed. I've never seen Jamo or BIC stuff in person, but they do look nice.

Best Buy defintintly has a lot of Klipsch so I could get a good comparison if i went that route. The BIC stuff looks similiar with the horn setup, could I expect a similiar sound from them?

I am located in Buffalo, NY, unfortunatly there is no Fry's around to get to and look at those speakers

how do the Polk Audio RTi A7 compare to the monitor 70? I found them for close to the same price...