HTPC Sound system

[Docphil]

I'm kind of stuck. I've got a great HTPC planned out and now I'm coming to the issue of what to do with sound. I know an AV receiver and dedicated sound system is probably best but in the interest of a budget I'm looking for something cheaper. I was looking at some in the box blue ray sound systems. My only question is could these deliver a decent sound? Doesn't have to be over the top or anything.

[vesseblah]

In a small room you could get some good quality 2.1 speaker set meant for computer use. That wont break your budget and be pretty decent on low budget. It wont work for a big livingroom though, and you pretty much have to go for dedicated AV amp. If you do that, remember you can start from two good stereo speakers, and buy the surround speaker and subwoofer when you can afford those. Just make sure to start buying a speaker set that sounds good as both 2.0 and 5.1.

Also the AV amp does not need to cost much, $200-300 price gives already very good quality for normal living room use. In more expensive devices the price goes up faster with things like high quality picture scaler (turns DVD player input into 1080p).

[Docphil]

I really do want 5.1. My living room is mid sized. I know there are some in the box blue ray systems with 5.1 for about 300 bucks. I just wondered if I could use that to hook my HTPC into and just have it go from the sound system to the actual TV that way.

[Deleted]

i prefer a high quality 2.1 system over a cheaper quality 5.1. it also depends what you use it for mostly, music doesn't specifically need 5.1 whereas movies obviously benefit from the extra speakers. i'd go for a high quality 2.1 system but it's all personal preference, so just go with what you think is best.