[marennorge]

I have a surround sound system with a Sony receiver and 6 Infinity speakers
including a sub woofer. I'm hard of hearing so I made this investment for myself. If you just got a receiver and a center speaker, you could enhance your listening experience tremendously. With a decent receiver, TV dialogue can be channeled through the center speaker making it much clearer without necessarily increasing the volume.

I have checked out the sound bars thinking to downsize my audio equipment footprint, but to me they sound really tinny. I think you would have to get one of the $1000+ sound bars to get reasonable quality. I have had my surround system for 15 years. I believe if you are going to spend the money for a nice flat screen TV, then spend a little extra for a decent sound system. You can check epinions.com for reviews on them.