I am a student in grade 11 and I have an RCA DVD player and a 25" tv in my room.  I currently have a JVC 120 watt mini system. I want to get into surround sound and my room is setup well enough for a smaller system.  At wal-mart i saw an RCA home theater with 350 watts power and Dolby Digital 5.1 compatibility for $388.  I know this will not match the sound quality of a custom selected reciever/speaker setup from brands like Technics, Marantz, JBL aet.. but will it provide good quality sound for a relatively small room.  I don't think the power is an issue because my 120 watt mini-system fills the room with sound very well and i rarely turn it up past 1/2 volume.  
  Also, If i got this system could I use my 60 watt mini-system speakers instead of the 50 watt satellites that come with the unit.  I would want to do this because it should result in more bass since the 60 watt speakers have 6.5 inch woofers while the 50 watts only have mid drivers.  Or would this result in the sound not being balanced?  
  Thanks for any advice.

You should post this in the TECH forum.  [:)]

Remember that in a DD 5.1 (or 6.1, or 7.1) system the primary source of bass is the powered sub-woofer (the .1 part).

Full range satellite won't make much of a difference in a small environment, and don't even make much difference in a large, well configured setup (ask me how I know [;)]

Take a wander around ebay; I'll bet you can find better components and get yourself a decent bedroom setup for under $500.

I have got a deal for you. I will sell you a kenwood reciever for the same price. Never been used. Bought it two years ago and haven't used it cause I couldn't afford speakers. Give it away for $400. drop me an email if your interested in the details. This is a top of the line reciever with the lcd remote control. I will see what the model is if your interested.

You should go to [url]http://www.hometheaterforum.com/[/url] and ask your question there. The people there know pretty much EVERYTHING there is to know about Home Theater. You will get a lot of good info and suggestions on where to find the best prices.

Well, it seems after doing some research, I would be ripping you off. Wow shit depreciates fast these days. Well kid I guess I don't want to sell it now that I know it would have to go for less than that.

Check the RCA speakers and see if they connect with bare wires or some type of plug setup. If bare wires you should have no problem.  Speakers with plugs are a hassle.  As far as the RCA system goes the final judge is your ears. How does it sound to you?  If it sounds sweet, buy it.

Ok, I finally have about enough money to buy this setup.  I have tried e-bay but the Canadian version has no selection and through the american version I get ripped off with the exhange rate plus huge shipping costs.  Now, I do have a few questions about installing surround sound.  One is a question that I have had for awhile and got a few different answers.  When I am sitting down the center channel will be pointed right at me but what about the other satellite speakers?  Do I point them straight forward or do I point them inwards towards the listening position?  Also, does it matter if the front L/R speakers are a little lower than the center and surround speakers, or should strive to install them all at the same level?  Only one more question.  I understand that I will be connecting the reciever to the dvd player through a digital coax or toslink cable for DD 5.1 sound.  However, if I also want to listen to stereo sources(such as mp3) do I have to connect the two units using standard RCA audio, or does stereo also travel over the same cable?