If you are willing to pay $400 for a sub, you really should consider getting the HSU STF-2 sub.
The HSU STF-2 will outperform the EP125 by leaps and bounds. The STF-2 is even a little better than the EP175 at a cheaper price.
If you are only going to listen to music, it is doubtful you will hear much difference. However, if you want to get into movies, the STF-2 will strut its stuff very well.
You might as well consider the SVS PB10-ISD as well for the same price range, however, the SVS is not as good for music as the HSU.
HSU STF-2 $400
SVS PB10-ISD $429
You are considering getting the same system I have (save for the sub, which is up to you).
Let me tell you, every person who watches a movie in my room leaves going, "wow." You won't be dissapointed. My dorm room is 8x22, and my room at home is 12x12, exactly what yours is. Trust me, what you are considering is perfect for a room that size.
The QS4's won't sound any different than the QS8's especially in a small room where they don't need to driven to loud levels. Do yourself a favor and go with the M22's. They mix perfectly with a sub. The M2's and M3's will mix well, but won't have the bass response and smoothness that the M22's have.
It's all up to you, but you won't be dissapointed with whatever you get!
I got all my cables from bluejeanscable.com. You will need the following:
5 runs of speaker cable - I would go with "BJC Twelve White (5000UE) (White jacket, 12 AWG)" get the lenghts necessary for each of your speakers.
A subwoofer cable - Go for the "Canare LV-77S Subwoofer Cable". Get your sub cable longer than you need, just in case.
A digital audio cable - Go for "Belden 1694A Digital Audio Cable". This is the cable that carries the signal from your DVD player to your Receiver. It goes to the "Coaxial" or "Digital out" or "SPDIF" ports on your DVD player and Receiver. This allows for you to have surround sound via Dolby Digital or SPDIF.
That's it for the audio cables. If you have a TV, cable box, VCR, or other components to hook up, look to see if they have digital out. If so, then get the digital audio cable as listed above for that. If they don't have digital out, go ahead and get
stereo audio cables for them.
If you want to use your receiver to switch your video for you (It's a personal preference, it can make it easier because you just need one remote to switch both audio and video) buy some
Component video cables for them. Your Plasma TV should have componant video, you are going to want to use composite video for your Plasma for the best video quality. Now, for hooking up your devices to your receiver, use componant video whenever possible. If a device doesnt' have that, go ahead and use
S-Video cables.
I think that just about covers it.
I hope that helps!
