Help for Newbie

[frrose]

Hi all, need some advice on upgrading our basement 5.1 home theater setup. We currently have a 8 year old BOSE Acustimass system that is not very satisfying, especially I think due to the size of the room. The room is 37' feet long. The ceilings are 7.5 ft tall. The room is "L" shaped, with the front being wider at 22', and the back half being narrower at 15'. The TV (60" LG plasma) is at the front. We will be listening from about 10-11 feet away. The rear speakers will be about 15' back from the screen, far enough back they will be sitting in the narrower part of the room. See attached image.
After reading several forums/reviews I am pretty certain that we are going to go with the HB-1 MK2s for fronts and surrounds, and the HC-1 MK2 for the center.

The question really is which sub should I get? I know the room is fairly large. If I had more funds I think I would go ahead and get the 15H. Unfortunately I think for now I am limited to ~$300 for now. Due to only having the wimpy "BOSE bass module" I have never had a real sub so I am wondering if I would be happy with a smaller sub. What sub would be ideal for the room and what sub could someone like me be satisfied with? Forgive me for suggesting this but I saw that I could get the BIC PL-200 Acoustech Platinum Series for $250. Would this be able to get me by until down the road when I might be able to upgrade the sub? I heard that Dr. Hsu was involved in the design of this sub as well, is that correct?

Last question, I have a hand-me-down sony da3200es av receiver. Will this drive the speakers/sub well enough?

Thanks for any thoughts,

Frankie

[Pete_Hsu]

Hi Frankie, welcome!

This is a pretty large volume of space to fill. Try to get the best subwoofer that you can comfortably fit into your budget and/or enclosure size constraints. Near the $300 price point, hard to do much better than the STF-2.

The HB-1 MK2 and HC-1 MK2 should work great in this space.

The Sony A/V receiver should have adequate power to drive the horn speakers. Certainly won't hurt to try it.

Sincerely,