Hi do I need " Home Audio Receiver" if I want to hook up surround sound speakers for home theater?

The HOME Audio reciever is the most important part of the Surround sound system....it DECODES the optical Audio output signal into the 5 discreet channels that compose the Surround signal.....

You need it....just as much or more than the 5 speakers.....

you just need to make sure the speakers have either an active subwoofer by that i mean does it have a power supply. or you just need any 5:1 surround sound amp alot of dvd players have integrated surround sound system so you speakers may just plug into the dvd you can check the back of your player if it has an integrated 5:1 surround sound it should tell you or you can tell visually it will hav outputs for five speakers 2 outputs for each one they are usually marked front left ,front right ,rear left etc.

Hope this was helpful. Marc

Don't get the Bose system. Bose is overpriced and I personally don't like the way they sound (muddy bass, missing midrange, and hissy treble). For about that much money, you can get a new Klipsch Quintet system (5 speakers) and a powered SW-10 subwoofer on eBay from a factory-authorized Klipsch dealer. And, it will blow away anything Bose has to offer. Regarding a receiver, Yamaha is about the best for inexpensive surround sound receivers. You can pick up a new Yamaha 5.1 surround sound receiver with about 70 watts per channel for about $200. And, you'll be very pleased with that system.

you should get a receiver and separate speakers. It would sound so much better with it. Find speakers you really like though, make sure you have a good listen, as important as the receiver is, i find that the speakers play the bigger part in sound quality.