How do I start?

You've got some good advice already especially mine :^). Seriously, there is a way to build a nice little system to start out with. You can indeed start small with a complete system and then add on to it a little bit every year. There are a couple manufacturers that make 1-box units that do it all. Classe and Linn make very nice little pieces that have cd, fm tuner, pre-amp and amp all built into one. Add a nice little pair of monitors (book shelve speakers) and your there. I almost put the Linn Classik in my bedroom with a small pair of B&W speakers once, but the thought of downsizing my current system was unbearable.

You guys are great for answering me so fast. I've been researching for about a month and I thought I would get a receiver first. I have an older Home Theater in a box from Onkyo that just has Pro Logic. I thought it sounded pretty decent in my apartment. Now I have a different apartment and a family, which is why I can't spend all my money. I've pretty much narrowed my choice of getting the Integra 7.2. It doesn't have Dolby Digital EX, but I'm guessing the 7.3 will come out pretty soon. I'm thinking that maybe I should go the receiver route instead of the preamp amp route. It seems a little less confusing, althouth I got the chills looking at the parasound equipment (Glen, I haven't bought anything yet and I'm already stuck!). The local shop sold NHT speakers and I thought they sounded great. I admit though, I'm a newbie and probably can't tell the difference as well as you all can from other speakers.

My system will be mostly for movies and not as much for music. My room is about 15' x 25'. I liked the receiver because it has some flexibility for multirooming. I definitely want to wire my whole house when I get one (who knows when that will be). While I just said my receiver is mostly for movies I would like to someday play music throughout the house.

I'll continue to monitor the responses. Thanks again for the input.

NHT's are nice speakers, especially for a modest system (at least initially) - a good receiver can drive them nicely, they're made to be place relatively close to the wall, they work very well in a dual-purpose role (HT and Music). And, they have a line that extends from budget up to pretty darn nice, so upgrading while keeping the basic sonic signature is achievable. I'd start with a pair of NHT's from the VT series - the 1.4's or 2.4's specifically. It seems very possible to get some used 1.4's and a used Denon 3300 (or similar level) of receiver for around $1500. That would set you nicely on the road to never having money again :-)

Start at the source and work your way back to the speakers. Buy the best DVD player you can afford and then match what you buy to the source. If you don't get the best possible sound and picture off of the DVD your wonderful speakers are not going to add it later. Good speakers are a waste of money if you don't have the electronics to go with it!
1) DVD
2) TV, if you are still in the market
3) Pre-amp
4) Amp
5) Speakers
Don't forget to get the best sounding/looking cables you can afford to buy.

Geez, where to begin?

Glen is right on target if you really want to jump in head first and to keep it simple. The Linn Classik and a pair of monitors (Triangle Titus for $499, Mission 780's, B&W's - lots and lots of nice stuff out there - listen to a couple of them and then pick).

I wouldn't do that, however, if I wanted to get into the hobby as a learning experience - only if I wanted to solve the problem of "I need better sound" so I can get on with my life (and DVD's, of course). If I wanted to learn about audio, I'd keep my money in my pocket - if I were you - UNTIL I had done the following:

1. Learned a bunch about the PROCESS (not products)- for example, how best to ALLOCATE your $1,500 budget to your: receiver, speakers (front, center, surrounds, and sub), source (i.e, DVD, CD), wires (or we call them, cables and interconnects). There have been some nice threads in the last couple of months on this site that will help you sort through this - conceptually, where to get the bang for your buck. If it doesn't start from a conceptual allocation, then any one component along the way can easily blow your budget.

2. Found out what my money could do, say $500 for a receiver? The used market is generally "suspect", but in my opinion, your worries can be greatly allieviated if you stick to the used market on this website, and possibly a couple of others. 99% of the members here at A'gon are honest (100% in my personal experience) and you can get twice the bang for your buck in the used market. You have to know what you're looking for and be patient to find a great deal. Use Google if you're looking for namebrand gear, but stick to this site for the wierd stuff (ha!).

For that receiver, go with the Outlaw Audio 6.1 jobbie for $499, but come to that conclusion on your own after a lot of reading (it's not available for audition because Outlaw Audio is an online only retailer). Or decide on something else. But remember, stick to your budget in terms of the relative amount you spend on each piece of gear.

3. Whenever possible, listen first. The easy thing to do is to narrow the field and then pick a winner and buy it. It's a lot more fun to extend your reasearch and do more comparisons and the end result will be a better match for your musical tastes. Keep an eye on this forum and use the search facility to look at old threads that relate to items you're interested in. Read everything you can about the low budget products for each aspect of your system, and try not to drool too much with the gear that is beyond your price point.

4. Make all of your major decisions in a month or two, and go with what you know at that time. Buy your components as quickly as possible once you start. You don't want to have speakers sitting around for 3 months waiting for the rest of it to come together.

5. Save some money for new music! With your new toys, it will all sound better! There are plenty of websites that will help you to identify audiophile quality recordings that will help any modest system shine.

6. Follow Angela's advice about cables. Keep it simple at first because the sonic improvements that cables add will not be nearly as noticable on a low budget system as they will be as you expand and develop your rig and shrink your retirement savings in the years to come.

Good luck and welcome. Oh, and follow Angela's advice as a general rule of thumb no matter what the subject!