Home Theater Noob Looking to Upgrade

Welcome and don't worry, we all have to start somewhere. You are heading in the right direction by pulling away from the HTIB systems like the all in one Panasonic and moving toward a AVR and separate speakers & subwoofer.

From what I gather from all above you basically have a Yamaha AVR, a Polk subwoofer and are looking for 5 speakers to mate with the Yamaha to complete a entry level 5.1 system. First thing you do is discard the Panasonic HTIB speakers as you are right - they are crap!

Second thing to know is that AVR's are rated in a very confusing manner and your receiver is probably putting out only 45-50 watts per channel, all 5 channels driven across the full frequency range of 20hz - 20khz. This is really the only spec that matters - not the hyped up marketing bs of 85 wpc into 1 khz. Despite the actual lower wattage number, this is OK too if you get the right speakers.

So, I would suggest you got back to Best Buy and get some entry level Polk TSI series, to match the Polk sub you aleady have. The TSI speakers are fairly efficient at around 90 db and most important - they are 8 Ohm speakers. 8 ohm speakers are much easier to drive than speakers rated at lower impedences such as 6 or 4 Ohm. Stay away from these! With the small built-in amp in your Yamaha, just stick with 8 Ohm and sensitivity around 90 and you'll be fine. You will be in way to a decent entry level 5.1 system that will be light years ahead of any HTIB.

As long as the speakers are 8 Ohm and have a sensitivity of 90 db or higher, your good. The Klipsch Reference your looking at are highly efficient and would work great too. Take at look at the impedence and sensitivity specs of the Klipsch models your looking at and you will see what I mean.

Correct, too little power will burn out speakers a lot more than too much. Because all amps will generate more than their stated output of watts but with distortion. Its called driving the amplifier into "clipping" and it is this "clipped" power or distorted power that does the damage. Thats the THD figure you spoke about not being clear on - Total Harmonic Distortion. You want this number, relative to the watts, to be below 1%. So the lower the better.

Don't obsess about speaker power ratings. Its the sensitivity and impedence numbers that matter. The Klipsch are very sensitive at 96 db at 1 watt at 1 meter. This means that it will produce 96 db of sound pressure with only 1 watt at 1 meter away when fed a signal. Most of the time speakers are only operating on a couple of watts. Its only complex musical passages or high action scenes in movies where the speakers require more power to be delivered. And they are not all asking for it at the same time. This is why AVR manufacturers can boast big numbers from small power supplies into 5 or 7 speakers. Your Yamaha probably can deliver 85 wpc but only into ANY ONE SPEAKER at a time. And for brief moments when the speaker demands it. To deliver this amount into 5 speakers SIMULTANEOUSLY and CONTINUOUSLY, it probably falls off to 40-50 wpc. Still plenty to handle a set of Klipsch at 96 db efficiency.

If you like the Klipsch get them and don't worry. Also, after you get them, then consider upgrading your receiver to something with more power and your speakers will be ready. Just don't fall for the AVR marketing hype - look at manufacturers that are more honest with lower wattage ratings with ALL CHANNELS DRIVEN CONTINUOUSLY. This is why upper eschelon companies like NAD, Arcam, Cambridge Audio state far less power but at often 2-3 times the cost of a Yamaha. Its real, real power. Even the higher priced models from the mainstream AVR manufacturers like Yamaha will begin to get more honest at a certain price point. Learn to read the numbers! Hope all this helps - I am now at my personal 3 post limit in a thread LOL.