Considering upgrade, what would I be looking at?

I have a set of Yamaha NS-7390s that I purchased quite a few years ago. I believe these retailed at about 300 for the pair but I was able to pick them up at less than half that so I jumped on the deal.



The primary reason I'm upgrading is because I'm using some very sub-par speakers for my surrounds and center channel. These were pulled from an old phillips "surround sound" boom box setup as a temporary college solution.


I'm thinking of going to some different surrounds like the AR's, Insignia's, etc. in the 50-100/pr range since I've been told timbre matching the rear stage to the L/C/R isn't 100% necessary if there are budget restrictions.


I may be able to secure a discount on the new Sony 910 HDMI receiver through a family friend, so my ultimate goal is a budget 7.1 system to enjoy blu-rays and ps3 games with. I should add i'm currently happy with the sub I have but may upgrade that in the future.


so, my options are to either:


a) ditch the bad center and purchase a yamaha center so the L/C/R stage is timbre matched

b) look into new front stage speakers all together


I've been told yamaha doesn't make the best speakers so my question, then, is what price bracket would I need to look around in to make an upgrade over 7390s "worth while?" Would something like the Athena's or AR's sound better than these or would they be comparable/worse?


Thanks in advance, just looking for a little direction so I have a pricerange in mind .