Right, I've got my Xmas bonus, my CC can be maxed out, so I'm off down the shops. But one thing, how many speakers do I need?

I'm looking at getting a home theatre set up. Got a 13 ft space to throw it all in, with a 3-seater sofa against one wall and a TV against the other.

I know the standard speaker set is 5.1, and trust me, in that size I probably don't need anything like a 6.1, 7.1 or even a 10.2 I've seen!

But if I get two pretty decent flor-standing speakers for my front two, and two decent rear speakers, will my amp be able to push the centre through the two front and the bass through these as well?

Or is it essential that I have a centre and sub-woofer?

Oh, I'm not trying to be a tight ass, I'm thinking of space and spending the same amount of money on 4 speakers as I would on the 5.1 set-up!

I'm thinking of putting both my music through the set as well as DVD's/home theatre, so any advice would be good.

Cheers in advance!

I would go for the 5.1 setup. You won't be able to push the center channel through the fronts if you want a digital setup. This would be more of a pro logic setup which you probably know doesn't sound nearly as good.. Let us know your budget and we can start recommending some equipment..

I agree with PhYbEr about the center channel. It is pretty much required for digital. You COULD do without a sub, if you feel you HAVE to, but I'd get one.
If you go without sub, you'll need to go into receiver settings and set your speakers to "large". Then LFE signal (bass) will be split amongst speakers, along with L/R and surround signals.
If you get sub, you'll need to set speakers to "small", so bass signal is sent to subwoofer.
Really will sound soooo much better with all the speakers.
Have fun!

Thanks guys, anyone disagree? (Not trying to start a fight, honest!!)

As for budget, then for a receiver and speakers was looking at around US$3k (I'm based in Singapore, hence some things might be a bit more expensive)

I know a couple of brands, but am not overly familir with what's available in Singapore so probably need to do a bit of window shopping there! Idea is to spend about US$1k on a receiver and US$2k on speakers, is that a good mix? Or should more go on the receiver? Yeah, I know 10% extra for the wires!

Cheers again

Buy a spool of 12 gauge wire for the speakers. *Plenty* good for what you (or pretty much anyone) will need! And nowhere near 10% of your budget. In fact, might even be overkill...

As for other stuff, dunno how pricey things are in your neck of the woods. But here in the States, a great receiver (midlevel Yammy/Onkyo/Denon/etc.) will run about $500. Good peakers (Paradigm, Klipsch, NHT, smaller ones ) will run maybe $1k and sound great, and $500 will buy you a lotta sub!

If possible, I would listen to different setups. Don't buy receiver or speakers blindly. They each have their own "sounds". Klipsch speakers tend to sound very bright. So, you don't want to match them with a bright sounding receiver. Most say that Klipsch goes very well with a Yahama receiver. You really need to listen, and get what sounds good to you. You are the one that will be using it.........
Most figure one third to one half of total budget to go for speakers. Speakers are the most important part of HT. The 12 ga. wire drmoze mentioned will be great. For the connects, get good cables, but not necessarilly the most expensive. Good luck!

The center speaker is real important for HT, not for music. It should be good quality, comparable to mains. The satellites could be a little lower quality.

If you don't get sub, your front mains need good size woofers. Mine are four way, with 15" woofer, secondary woofer, 8", that matches center pretty well, midrange and tweeter. I already had two good stereo speakers I didn't want to waste, so I just added center and surrounds. Not ideal, but I'm satisfied. I use only the two mains for music. Receiver treats the mains as 'large', ie bass effects go there, everything else as 'small.'

If you are starting from scratch, I'd consider a sub, though.

For speaker wire, 12 or 14 AWG from home depot or similar is fine (just make sure there is a polarity indicator. For interconnect cables, sufficient for the purpose is all you need, many of the brand names are rip offs. I doubt it is necessary to spend anything like 10% of that nudget on cables, but you will find plenty of contrary opinions here. Some people like getting hosed for wire.