Turning Klipsch Quintet III into 7.1

[ArkGuy]

Those Quintet speakers sound quite good to me for their size. And the set is an excellent value. However, you might consider how soon you might want to upgrade your system after you go 7.1.

Given your set of facts, if you think you would want to upgrade relatively short term, i.e. within a year or two, I would lean toward perhaps applying the $170 ($85x2) to a pair of fronts and using the four matching Quints for your four surrounds. You'd probably want to change out the center next to have a good match on your "three across." But that way you'd avoid spending your money twice, so to speak.

On the other hand, if you see yourself running this rig for a while, get the other two on the way. Or check ebay or Craigslist. I think you can find suitable speakers for those last two slots for less money and the matching is much less of an issue.