Need speakers, 7.1 or 5.1? Recommendations?

I have a Harmon Kardon AVR 8000 and need to get new speakers. I have no idea what kind of speakers to get. Should I go for 7.1 or 5.1? Will I see a big difference with 7.1? I am not a big audio geek, but I don't want to regret not getting the 7.1 later if it's a lot better. Can I find anything good for $1500? What are your recommendations?
Thanks

Simple answer is forget about 7.1 if your sofa/chair is pushed up against the back wall. To get the full benefit of 7.1, you need a lot of space behind the listening position to properly align the back surround speakers.

Focus on your basic 5.1 setup first. Most rooms already present enough of a challenge just to accommodate a properly aligned 5.1 setup.

With your budget, I would suggest looking at bookshelf speakers and building a 5.1 setup around those speaker families rather than buying an all-in-one package. Typically, those all-in-one packages use inferior subwoofers and the satellite speakers do not accurately extend far enough into the bass range to properly match with the subwoofer. You're better off finding a good pair of main speakers, then matching the center and surround speakers around those speakers. The subwoofer can come from a different manufacturer because some companies are better at making subwoofers than others, and subwoofers work in a different part of the frequency range from the mains.

The first thing you should do is decide whether you want to buy the whole thing at the same time, or if you're willing to buy a partial system now and add on gradually. The more gradual approach allows you to look at higher quality speakers by allocating your budget to fewer speakers in the short-term.

As an example, for $1,500 you can build an entire 5.1 surround setup around Paradigm's Monitor series, or you can buy the front three speakers with their Studio series and add the surrounds and subwoofer later on. In that example, it would be up to you whether the sound quality upgrade between the two series are worth the price.

I would suggest that you go visit a local audio store and listen to what they carry. That should give you an idea of what's out there and what you can buy for your budget. Remember to bring your own music and movies with you, and see if you can borrow some of the dealer's demo models to do comparisons/listenings at home with your receiver.

I went to two stereo places today. United Audio tried to get me to purchase te POlk Audio RT/10s. Another store tried to get me to go with B&W speakers. Are Paradigm speakers generally better than these? It does not seem that anyone sells the Paradigm speakers locally... Thanks for any advice.

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Originally Posted by Unclemo

I went to two stereo places today. United Audio tried to get me to purchase te POlk Audio RT/10s. Another store tried to get me to go with B&W speakers. Are Paradigm speakers generally better than these? It does not seem that anyone sells the Paradigm speakers locally... Thanks for any advice.

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B&Ws are a safe pick, but they are generally on the expensive side for what you get. Polks have been hit and miss. Their RTi line is supposed to be pretty good, but I haven't heard it for myself. The right speakers for you will greatly depend on your preferences and your budget. Paradigms will tend to have a more aggressive sound than the B&Ws, so if you like that for your listening, then you might want to seek those out or Energy or PSB, which tend to have a similar design philosophy. What other speakers do your local dealers carry?

Those two are basically it. I just found Paradigm speakers about 40 minutes away so I am going to listen to them next weekend. Hopefully that will end my search. Thanks.

WOW, how complicated life must has to be.