Agreed. You can find a few htib setups on eBay or amazon that would be better than the factory speakers. Not sure what kind of end result you want, but if you decide to step it up a bit and piece together a quality setup I have some klipsch bookshelves and center channel set that I'm selling, would saturate your current budget though.
Are you an Amazon Prime member by chance? The VIZIO S4251w-B4 is well reviewed, and you can grab it for $228 right now. Click "11 new" and select Amazon as the seller. Costco has it at this price as well, in-store only.
Have you checked Craigslist in your area? Don't know how good it is but here in Georgia I picked up some crazy nice JBL Studio series speakers for like $100. 2 sets of speakers. Retailed for like $600 new. Receiver is a Denon AVR-1610 that I got for $100 as well. Definitely spent over $300 after getting a center channel and sub, but just something to think about.
Not for sale, but to offer a recommendation, I actually have that Onkyo system, as well as the Sony HT-CT150 soundbar. Both are pretty decent, and worth the money for a decent sound system. I got the Sony because I wanted something compact for the bedroom that could handle DTS audio, while having the Onkyo in the living room.
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.