surround sound system noob needs help

[budmademewiser]

Hey guys, in my house at the television there are speaker wires running thought the walls setup for 5.1 surround sound. What will i need to buy to take advantage of this? I don't know much at all about what is needed so please mention everything. All i have at the moment is the TV. Thanks in advance.

[Guest]

How exactly are the cables run through the wall? Pics would help.

Do you own a 5.1 system?

[t0wer]

if it's just a pair of unterminated wires to each location, all you need is a receiver and speakers.

[budmademewiser]

It is just speaker wire that was routed through the wall when the house was built of all I need is receiver and speakers does anyone have any recommendations for around 400

[frink]

It is just speaker wire that was routed through the wall when the house was built of all I need is receiver and speakers does anyone have any recommendations for around 400

For $400 the best option I can recommend is a Home Theater in Box (HTiB) setup. You will be locked in to the features and hardware of the unit, but you will get the full 5.1 effects at a reasonable price and of course sound quality will be a stage above your TV. Buying one that matches your TV will allow you to simplify your experience as you can often use the same remotes to control most features of both devices.

However, there are a lot of things to consider. If your room is medium to large size and open the sound of a HTiB will be thin and lifeless, a more powerful setup will be required. Also, in audio setups $400 doesn't bring much quality to the table and you will likely be upgrading a (due to wanting more quality/features sooner rather than later). One long term suggestion you can do is save up closer to $1000 (you're 40% there!) and invest in a mid range receiver and some small home theater speakers (such as the Energy Take Classic II). You will be granted the options to add more components to this and will get a much richer sound than any HTiB and more features too.