Some doubts about my first non-HTIB purchase - help a fellow out.

[hashhar]

Hi,

I'm looking to build a 5.1 (for now) system which I plan to expand to 7.1.4 over time. My input sources are primarily going to be my desktop for games + BD movies, Fire TV Stick for Netflix/YouTube apps and bluetooth is good to have for phones or friends who'll visit.

Based on this I figured I need 11 channels and settled on Denon X3800H + a stereo amp to drive FR since the 3800H only has 9 amped channels. This is the only part of the system I'm confident about.

About my listening space:

10'x10' room - yes, square isn't ideal
near-field usage at ~4ft from center channel for music + games
movie usage at ~8ft from center channel

For the room size I read that there's almost no point in using tower speakers or a larger sub (like 10 or 12 inch subs).
So now I'm super confused about what speakers to get because I have no idea how they sound or whether they'd be too big for my room or not ideal for near-field music listening at the desk.

Another alternative I was considering was saving some money on speakers and adding a powered 2.1 setup as well for near-field but that sounds like a compromise on speaker quality.

Also I'm in Gurugram, any folks here in Delhi-NCR who would be kind enough for me to visit and see their HT setups to get a feel for it? I can bring food and drinks

 

[spirovious]

For the room size I read that there's almost no point in using tower speakers or a larger sub (like 10 or 12 inch subs).

With that room size, good bookshelf with 6 in driver can be a good choice. If still keeping towers in mind, then 5.5in driver based one can be considered. Now coming to the rest setup, if you are more into music then 5.1 can be skipped. But if you need a good home theater then can start with avr/speakers first and then add rest to the setup.