The home theater speakers really "make" the experience what it is. Without surround sound and some great quality speakers, you will be missing half of what makes home theater tons of fun.
The main difference between "regular" television watching and home theater is the surround sound. To get the best surround sound system, you need at least four (or more) speakers strategically placed around the room. It is not just so the speakers can distribute sound around the room evenly; it is to that the audio signal can actually be divided up amongst the different speakers. So different sound information and therefore, sounds come out of all the different speakers!
In general, the most important sounds will come out of the front speakers, like dialogue.
