How do I start?

Speakers first is the rule for everyone. Match them to your room and musical tastes then get an amp that will drive them, fine tune the sound with wire.

Sah22:

If I were starting out building my home theater from scratch today, then this is what I would do:

(01). I would buy my speaker package first. And that means I would buy my speaker package this year. Concentrating solely on the speakers allow me the opportunity to invest in quality instead of just sticking to a price point. Investing in quality now will do nothing but pay off BIG dividends next year when I am finally ready to buy a receiver.

AND THEN

(02). I would buy my receiver next year. Again, doing the "one component at a time" approach allows me the opportunity to invest in quality. So, instead of getting a $500.00 receiver next year, then why not go ahead and get one the costs about $1,000.00. That way, you will end up with a receiver that's going to get the optimum performance out of the speakers that you're going to select this year. That would be what I would do.

But now, if I wanted to do everything all at one time, then this what I would start out with:

Speaker Package: Polk Audio -- About $500.00.
Audio/Video Receiver: Harman/Kardon AVR-225 -- About $500.00.
Television/Monitor: Panasonic CT-27SX12 -- About $600.00.
DVD Player: Toshiba SD-2800 -- About $130.00.

As you can see, you can put together a whole home theater system for less than $2,000.00 (something that I thought was impossible even over a year ago), and then when the upgrade bug finally hits you, you can always upgrade a piece at a time later on when your budget allows.

Regards and Good Luck.........

--Charles--

If you stick with a 2 channel system (my recommendation) you may be able to afford seperates up front( there are some nice value pieces advertised right here on Audiogon). Perhaps an intergrated amp as a compromise. You seem to be planning a long term upgrade approach. Thats fine, but having pieces is not having a system. Unless you see the most fantastic bargain you might as well hold onto your money till you can afford the system you want. More often than not the pieces that are useless by themselves will be depreciating with out use. A reciever may have the most bang for the buck, but it will certainly make it more difficult to pursue an upgrade path. At the sake of being redundant. IMHO, as you already have sources, think room, speakers, power, control and wires in that order. Good luck!

This has all been great advice. I really do appreciate all those who have responded. As an update, I'm continuing to do more research and narrow down what I really want. I've really liked the comment about knowing the room. I'll keep you all updated. Feel free to offer more advice or suggestions. Thanks,

Scott

If you want quality, dont go cheap. First dont buy home theatre in a box. Save your money for a while and get a good receiver and good front speakers. Wait till you save some more $$$$$ and get a sub.Save more, get a center channel save, save,save get rears. The PSB image line is real good, and not expensive. For wire go to Home Depot and Get their 12 or 14 guage wire off the big spool its pennies a foot and good. Also check out the RCA gold banana plugs $5 a pair , in the same aisle as the wire. And when you save a real lot of money, Get a RPTV or a Plasma. Nuff Said!