Starting out Audiophile separates?

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-

If you want to do this then you should know that certain manufacturers amplification components work best with certain manufactures speakers . Learn that this is a 'system' , these components need to work 'together' .

Many speaker manufacturers use one particular manufacturers amplification components when designing their speakers and the same is true for the amplification manufacturers .

I like the Oppo idea , it will give you many choices . I have been contemplating this myself !

Good luck