Looking for a good 5.1 Home Theater Setup

$800 dollars for speakers and sub. is pretty low and hard to find something decent. I think the best thing for you to do would be to buy a 5.1 set up. Either Energy, Definitive Audio or something similar.

Start with:

denon 1713
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR1713/DENON-AVR-1713-5.1ch-Networking-Receiver-w/AirPlay-3D-Ready/1.html

pair of polk monitor 70's (or 60's if you prefer)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290208


later on:
add matching cs2 center speaker, surrounds (monitor 30s or 40s if you want to match the 70's) and sub as funds allow. I'd budget around $500 or so for a fairly nice sub, though you can get by with a few budget subs in the $200ish range (bic f12 and psw505 are commonly recommended).

Denon vs Yamaha vs Onkyo vs Marantz - in the end its mostly about preferences. Pick the one in your budget range that has the gadgets bells and whistles you are looking for.

When you say 'satellite' I (and most of the guys/gals here) think little tiny speakers with a single 3" driver in them. I'd almost rather use the tv speakers. Get something with at least a 5" woofer with tweeter - we call them bookshelf speakers. Coupled with a decent sub your setup will sound pretty good. How large a speaker can your room accommodate?

Amazon has the Infinity Primus 143 bookshelf speakers (get four) and matching center channel for a great price - right at $400. That leaves you $400 for a sub.
Edited by Knucklehead90 - 12/28/12 at 1:00pm

Right now on Ebay you can get 4- Monitor 30 booskhelves, CS1 Center, and a PSW505 for $480. If you can find a used receiver fro $3-350, that will be right there around the $800 budget.

Buy the Denon 1713 that someone mentioned earlier for $320 and your right at your budget with a nice setup
Edited by chrisu7582 - 12/28/12 at 1:01pm

I'd say get the Klipsch RW12-D sub from newegg when it goes on sale(which seems to be every other week) for 300 bucks shipped. You'd be hard pressed to find better for the price.

My choice is Cadence CSX12 sub - and it will hit hard
http://www.cadencesound.com/products/CSX12-Mark-II.html

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/review-cadence-csx-12-mark-ii-subwoofer?page=0,2

^^ Or that one. I looked it up but it is unavailable from their website and Amazon, but I do see it on ebay for 299 including shipping.

OK, have fun and enjoy.

12 or 14 guage speaker wire will work just fine.

There's a myth out there that expensive cables and wires greatly improve SQ. That's not true.

Get yourself some speaker wire and subwoofer cables from Monoprice:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10236
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239

To know what gauge wire you need for your speakers, consult the chart on this page (scroll down). You can always get a little bit lower gauge (thicker) wire if you want to.

+1

Or thinner. With that set-up, you'll be fine using 16-gauge.

..the picture shows..binding post..of an avr..you can use banana plugs...

You need to get your terminology correct, you're confusing me and probably others.

Receivers and speakers have binding post terminals. Sample of binding post on a speaker.



Banana plugs look like this. You connect the speaker wire to the banana plug and then insert into the binding post.

Plugs are nice if you plan on moving things around frequently and a bit easier to deal with on the back of you AVR. For the best and least expensive speaker connection just use the bare wire tightly twisted and then "bound" to the various posts with the provided screw down. Care that no stray strands escape and that polarity is consistent is all you really need with 16-14 gauge wire on this set up, The spooled wire from mono-price or the GE stuff on the Home Depot shelf will all sound awesome. The one exception is the sub, you need a single RCA connections on both ends, the above link is perfect. You should be very happy with this system, let us know how you like when its all setup.

The second is just for that, in-wall installation, to meet code. Not necessary for in-room runs of cable.

Not all binding posts accept banana plugs, those that do are often called 5-way binding posts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_post. The newer gear usually offers the 5way post but even some very good quality gear didn't always come with the 5-way thing (like my Carver 500 and 500t amps). 16AWG is 16 american wire gauge. Personally I use 14 for most everything I've got, buying in reels. I also that way have the same stuff for even the longest runs as well as shortest for aesthetics and consistency in determining connections. I install my own banana plugs and would recommend those with dual set screws inside the plug, rather than open screw types, to secure the wire like these http://www.amazon.com/Sewell-Silverback-Banana-Plugs-Screw/dp/B005BT2KJE/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1358490094&sr=1-9&keywords=banana+plugs+for+speakers

I use the second one CL2 12 guage for my speaker runs. I then use Flextech sleeve cover, speaker wire pants and banana plugs to make my wires look nice. Like this: