Need Help on new HT...

[Tallen234]

I am revamping my HT and need some general advice on speaker selection. Right now I have a Denon 2803 with Ascend 170's L/C/R and HTM-200's for the rears. I am going to be getting a new Plasma (Pioneer 6010 or Elite), an Onkyo 905 (or Denon 4308) and am now thinking about speakers.

I am leaning toward staying with a 5.1 and moving two of the 170's to the rear and putting some new Sierra's across the front. However, with the new audio formats coming out (Dolby True HD), I was wondering if I should go for a 7.1 system. I could move the 200's to the Right and Left Rear Centers. Would that perform significantly better than the above 5.1?

The room is 15x30 or so with the speaker set up on the short axis (My couch is 10-11 feet from the TV/front speakers). The room has a high ceiling and has travertine tile floors. I use the system about 80/20 for HT purposes and my music tastes are all over the place.

Thanks for any advice!

[Mike^S]

Definitely go for the Sierras. They are fantastic!

As far as going 5.1 or 7.1, it seems you could try both right? I mean you already have the speakers for it.