lel,
I'd go with one of the higher-end Denon receiver (3800 series) and a Denon CD, SACD, DVD player that links to it for surround SACD sound. I think 5.1 is the way to go, expecialy for movies and certain TV shows (CSI Miami is especially appealing in HDTV and 5.1, as well as many of the series on HBO and Showtime). I agree that, while a Pioneer Elite is nice, a Panasonic is more cost effective and nearly as nice. Try to match the speakers across the front. Get a good sub for the LFE in movies and TV, and as a LF supplement for music. Monitors, i.e. smaller than floor standing speakers, should be fine if the sub is good. I'd be disinclined to tie myself to inwall speakers. Monitors can be fit unintrusively into your design.
db
I'd go with one of the higher-end Denon receiver (3800 series) and a Denon CD, SACD, DVD player that links to it for surround SACD sound. I think 5.1 is the way to go, expecialy for movies and certain TV shows (CSI Miami is especially appealing in HDTV and 5.1, as well as many of the series on HBO and Showtime). I agree that, while a Pioneer Elite is nice, a Panasonic is more cost effective and nearly as nice. Try to match the speakers across the front. Get a good sub for the LFE in movies and TV, and as a LF supplement for music. Monitors, i.e. smaller than floor standing speakers, should be fine if the sub is good. I'd be disinclined to tie myself to inwall speakers. Monitors can be fit unintrusively into your design.
db