Starting out Audiophile separates?

I'd also recommend a straight up 2 channel rig. They work fine for video and you are going to be able to get a higher quality sound. You will only need 2 speakers instead of 5, you will also only need 2 pair of speaker cables instead of 5... get the idea? if you have $500 for speakers, you can get 2 nice speakers, or 5 mediocre speakers...

if set up properly, which I bet you will do, when sitting in the middle you won't need a center channel speaker anyway because the voices should come from the center anyways. Someone once told me that the best center channel is no center channel, and I tend to agree.

Even though I currently have a Peachtree Nova Pre/220 combo (bought local for $900)I'm not a huge supporter of Peachtree but... some place is selling the new Nova 125 SE in Rosewood for $1100 or $1199 and that may not be a bad place to start.

Think about resale also. Buy components that you can get your money back out of easily so that if you don't like it, or want to upgrade, you can :)

Another option would be a Parasound Halo A21 here on audiogon for $500, a schiit bifrost uber with usb, and a schitt passive volume control.

I'd go with Blue Jeans interconnects and speaker cables; great bang for the buck and not expensive.

Good Luck!

Well said LIMO, I 2nd!

Congrats on your HEA journey! Don't let any setbacks discourage you, remember it's about the music. If you like a variety of music the Magnepan MMG is your best starting point. The best(sounding) extreme budget amp(I know) is the NAD S300. There not that easy to find but with some patience a near mint(make sure it's spec) unit can be had for <$750. The Denon CX3 series should be easier to find, don't let the micro size fool you these are serious entry level components. The DCD-CX3 is the strongest of the 2 units, no problem with matching the CX3 with the Denon. With cables buy the best Signal Cables, these will survive several future upgrades.

As a followup to my previous post let me ask a couple questions.

What are going to use as a source(s) and for viewing.

Do you have a dedicated room for the home theater? I ask this question because it has been my experience that many who try a multichannel system in a ‘living’ room find that they go back to a 2.1 system. It proves more difficult to get the result desires and at a greater cost. When dealing with a room dedicated to HT the game changes.

The Emotiva UMC-200 would be an excellent preprocessor choice for you. It lists for $699 but if you join their E-Club for $50 they'll knock 25% off the price.

They also have a terrific 7.1 channel receiver for only $499, the Flex 8100. It has 65 watts/channel ALL channels driven simultaneously. It also comes with a sophisticated room correction system which will tailor your speakers' sound to the room, a very nice feature indeed. In addition, it has an 11-band parametric equalizer which will allow you to finely tune the sound, you are not limited to just Bass and Treble controls.

It comes with a 3 year warranty and a 30 day in-home trial so that you can listen to it in your room to make sure it's right for you.

Receiver:
https://emotiva.com/products/receivers/fusion-8100

This is the way I'd go if I were you. Mate this receiver with some good quality speakers - Tekton, GoldenEar, or the much lauded Andrew Jones designed Pioneer speakers. You could put together a *killer* 5.1 system for less than $1200 if you shop wisely.

Subwoofer($105 incl. shipping, used - like new):
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SW-8MK2-Designed-100-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B008NCD2PC

Front L/R speakers($105 ea. incl. shipping, used - like new):
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SW-8MK2-Designed-100-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B008NCD2PC

Center channel speaker ($97 with free shipping!):
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SW-8MK2-Designed-100-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B008NCD2PC

Rear speakers ($87/pr. used!!!):
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SW-8MK2-Designed-100-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B008NCD2PC

So, that's about $510 for the speakers/subwoofer and $500 for the receiver - all delivered to your door!! This will give you a VERY good sounding 5.1 multi-channel system for right around a grand. Find a nice Oppo BDP-103 universal player for $400 and you would have one hell of a good system for less than $1500.

Oppo BDP-103 ($400):
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/cd-sacd-players-oppo-digital-bdp-103-blu-ray-sacd-cd-network-streaming-device-versatile-excellent-cond-2015-01-05-digital-95014-monte-vista-ca

It don't get much better than that, pardner!!

-RW-