Advice on a HT set up? Rate this set up please.

Hey all. I am setting up a 5.1 HT system in my family room.
What I want is this.

Harman Kardon AVR-130Z 5.1 Reciever.
Athena Technologies BS-2 Bookshelfs Front AND Rear.
Center Speaker? I dont know yet! LOL! What should I get?
Sub.... Dont know that either.

Are big floorstanding speakers needed up front for HT use? Will the 2 sets of bookshelfs and a good center and sub be just as good?

My room is 15X12 so not a huge space.

Im on a bugdet of $1000 USD maybe $1500USD tops. Thanks for any help.

I think $1500 would get you a better HT than $1000, especially on the speakers.

Receiver: Denon AVR-1804 $400

For the remaining $1100 for speakers:
Front speakers: B&W 600 S3 ($350/pair)
Surround speakers: B&W 600 S3 ($350/pair)
Subwoofer: B&W ASW 600 ($400)

That goes over by $100, but you can easily get the B&W dealer to take off 10% or more from the total, especially if you're buying more than 1 item and that should fit your budget. I recommend getting that, then save for the center speaker which is B&W LCR60 S3 ($350) when you can afford it later on. For your small room, it's probably better to have higher quality 4 matching speakers than have 5 speakers of lower quality. Good luck with your system!

I like B&W speakers and I plan to get some myself.