ham,
Wall mounting bookshelf speakers, you'll need to consider speaker design. You can't wall mount speakers that vent to the rear unless they are intended to be mounted this way (Polk sells some like this). So you are restricted to acoustic suspension (no ports) or speakers that port to the front. You'll get much better performance with bookshelf speakers versus in-walls. Make sure you get brackets that will allow you to swivel the speakers so you can position them for best sound. My only advice on bookshelf speakers is to get speakers with fairly good low frequency extension (at least 60Hz). Otherwise they will not blend well with a subwoofer. I would get some stands (or just stack some concrete blocks) and try as many speakers as you can in your room at the proper height (tweeters at ear level). Speakers will sound very different depending on the room, so your dealer should let you audition a lot of speakers. As for brands, I think you're on the right track. I am partial to Canadian speakers, so I recommend Paradigm, Energy, PSB, and Mirage. I would also recommend looking into mail-order speaker manufacturers. Look at ACI ( www.audioc.com ) and give the owner Mike Dzerko a call. He is very knowledgeable and will likely be able to give you good advice on speakers suitable for wall mounting. You don't mention a subwoofer, I'm assuming you're getting one as they are essential for HT with bookshelf speakers.
As for separates vs. a receiver, with the quality of receivers these days that's a tough call. For ease of use and installation, a receiver is very nice. Since you're a novice, you might want to go the receiver route. I don't think you'll lose that much in performance assuming you get fairly sensitive speakers (around 90dB/W or so) and a powered subwoofer reproducing all the bass.
Wall mounting bookshelf speakers, you'll need to consider speaker design. You can't wall mount speakers that vent to the rear unless they are intended to be mounted this way (Polk sells some like this). So you are restricted to acoustic suspension (no ports) or speakers that port to the front. You'll get much better performance with bookshelf speakers versus in-walls. Make sure you get brackets that will allow you to swivel the speakers so you can position them for best sound. My only advice on bookshelf speakers is to get speakers with fairly good low frequency extension (at least 60Hz). Otherwise they will not blend well with a subwoofer. I would get some stands (or just stack some concrete blocks) and try as many speakers as you can in your room at the proper height (tweeters at ear level). Speakers will sound very different depending on the room, so your dealer should let you audition a lot of speakers. As for brands, I think you're on the right track. I am partial to Canadian speakers, so I recommend Paradigm, Energy, PSB, and Mirage. I would also recommend looking into mail-order speaker manufacturers. Look at ACI ( www.audioc.com ) and give the owner Mike Dzerko a call. He is very knowledgeable and will likely be able to give you good advice on speakers suitable for wall mounting. You don't mention a subwoofer, I'm assuming you're getting one as they are essential for HT with bookshelf speakers.
As for separates vs. a receiver, with the quality of receivers these days that's a tough call. For ease of use and installation, a receiver is very nice. Since you're a novice, you might want to go the receiver route. I don't think you'll lose that much in performance assuming you get fairly sensitive speakers (around 90dB/W or so) and a powered subwoofer reproducing all the bass.
