Looking to upgrade my 5.1 set, reccomendations?

[Mushkins]

Forever ago when I bought my first 5.1 set for a really small bedroom, I picked up a set of secondhand Jensen JHT525 for maybe $60.

I'm aware these are totally on the bottom of the charts as far as quality goes, and i'm no audiophile. Long story short I just moved into a bigger place and with everything else getting some love I think it's time for a new set of speakers. The catch is I don't have a lot of expendable income, and they have to be small enough to wall mount.

I'm always seeing 5.1 HTIB go on sale from Sony/Insignia/Etc for about ~$100-150 at target/best buy/walmart/etc. I'm just wondering if these sets are even worth the money, or would I be essentially buying more of exactly what I have? If not, can anyone recommend a solid set of 5 for less than $200 total? The subwoofer can always get replaced down the road, i'm mostly concerned with the speakers.

A horizontal center is also preferred so I can stick it infront of the TV base instead of climbing back there to hang a shelf or some other awkward corner wallmount solution.

I mostly use this setup to play games and watch TV/Movies, music is nice but secondary. I currently have a newer Yamaha receiver with HDMI, I cant remember the model number, but it's one of their entry level models I bought about 2 years ago that serves me just fine.

Thanks.

 

[boomhower]

Energy Take 5. Pretty much the only prepacked set anywhere in the price range I'd recommend. A sub can be added down the road. BiC F12 or Polk PSW505 for $200 can be added later. The energy take 5's often go one sale with the version that comes with the sub at $300 or the linked one without the sub for $130-$150 at various retailers with amazon and newegg being the usual suspects.

 

[blackangst1]

Energy Take 5. Pretty much the only prepacked set anywhere in the price range I'd recommend. A sub can be added down the road. BiC F12 or Polk PSW505 for $200 can be added later. The energy take 5's often go one sale with the version that comes with the sub at $300 or the linked one without the sub for $130-$150 at various retailers with amazon and newegg being the usual suspects.

Pretty good advice right here :thumbsup:

 

[Mushkins]

Thanks, that looks about exactly what i'm looking for. How do they compare to these: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...cs_id=1090601&p_id=9774&seq=1&format=2&ref=cj Lot of reviews seem to say they're possibly identical outside of the branding, but there's a 20% off coupon for the monoprice set.

 

[blackangst1]

Thanks, that looks about exactly what i'm looking for. How do they compare to these: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...cs_id=1090601&p_id=9774&seq=1&format=2&ref=cj Lot of reviews seem to say they're possibly identical outside of the branding, but there's a 20% off coupon for the monoprice set.

Id stick with the Energy branded ones...IF they are rebranded.

 

[boomhower]

Thanks, that looks about exactly what i'm looking for. How do they compare to these: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...cs_id=1090601&p_id=9774&seq=1&format=2&ref=cj Lot of reviews seem to say they're possibly identical outside of the branding, but there's a 20% off coupon for the monoprice set.

Take a look at avs forums. There's some talk on the monoprice set but I don't recall much. The sub it comes with you may as well disregard though
, it's not going to give you much at all.