I'm not quite an audiophile, but I CAN regognize and appreciate a good sound system.
That said, I have a HTS 770 setup in my living room in my dorm apartment, and it's loud enough and clear enough to hear from the dorm courtyard. Volume might be important, but clarity is too, and for everything REASONABLE I do with it (TV, DVDs, CDs, MP3s and video from my TV Computer) it performs exceptionally well. I listen to a broad range of music and everything sounds great, be it jazz or hiphop.
For an out of the box solution at a VERY reasonable price, I'd advise you to pick the HTS 770 up. One of my friends liked my setup so much that he went out and bought one.