TV speakers in open room

Hello,

We are building a home theater space and I thought I'd update our tv speakers (a few, up to $400, might get lost in the thousands of av/home improvement in the theater). Currently tv goes out to a 5 disc changer that we bought in 1998 for $200.
The wonderful panasonic ak-27.
Here are the specs:



These speakers do produce some bass. They have two woofers and a tweeter. More than typical bookshelf speakers.

I'm not an audiophile and critical listening will happen in the theater space anyways. These are just for watching news or basic channel flipping while sitting on couch. Background music for cooking etc.

Will I notice a difference by changing speakers to something like:
Mirage OMD-5

Amplifier Power Output 10-175 Watts (unclipped)
System Type OMNIPOLAR™ Bookshelf / Satellite Speaker
Max. Load Weight (lbs) 8 lb / 3.63 kg
Frequency Response 60 Hz - 20 kHz (+/- 3dB)
Impedance 6 Ohms Nominal / 4 Ohms Minimum
Accessories Wall Bracket and Polishing Cloth
Tweeter 1" Pure Titanium Hybrid Dome
Overall Dimensions HxWxD,in: 9.18 x 6.45 x 7.22,cm: 23.3 x 16.4 x 18.3
woofer 5.5" Poly Titanium Deposit Hybrid
Product Finish High Gloss Black; High Gloss Rosewood
Crossover Point 2.3 kHz

Aperion 5B

Weight 12.0 lbs
Frequency Response (+/- 3dB) 80Hz to 20,000Hz -- (+/- 6dB) 68Hz to 20,000Hz
Impedance 8 ohms
Sensitivity 87dB
Recommended Power 25-200 Watts
Tweeter 1" Audiophile-grade Silk-Dome Tweeter
Woofer 5.25" Woven-Fiberglass Mid-Woofer
Driver Configuration 2-Way
Enclosure Type 18mm MDF, Ported
Dimensions 12" H x 6.75" W x 8" D
Product Family Intimus

The Specs look the same to me. I want to drive these with: AudioSource AMP-100 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882180022&name=Receivers

The harmonic distortion goes from 1% now on the amp to 0.1% with the audoSource. Other than this, there doesn't seem much difference. I could also keep the speakers and just ditch the ridiculous cd changer/tape-deck stack for the sleek amp.

What do you think? Go all the way for some nice bookshelves or stick to what I've got?

Wow that sherwood is certainly more feature rich. Yes it is for stereo only.

Fwiw, in the loop is a really cheap htpc that is mostly used for dvr. The sound goes from the cheap pc analog out to the panny stack for amping.
So I would have turned the amp to like 80% and set it and forget it. then use the pc remote for volume control. But I currently do use the stack for volume control especially since some tv channels have messed up volume that is simply too low.
And I like idea of turning fm on randomly.

The speaker issues are more complicated though. Seemingly too many choices. I spent last night reading all the nice things people had to say about the andrew jones pioneer speakers and I think I'll pick some up just because now they are $84/pair. If they are too weak for TV use, I can put them in the bedroom.

I am having trouble finding "pro" reviews of the 6.25" bookshelf speakers. I live in a geographically challenged area of eastern CT so it isn't easy to audition speakers. For instance, I'm leaning towards aperion for the home theater room due to their 30 day trial. HTD lets you trial also but i read a review saying its strings instruments in classical wasn't too good.

gosh. I mean I don't even know how much to trust reviews. it's all very overwhelming. I kinda wanna get those pioneers in my hands just to see what "good" speakers sound like compared to the panasonics.