Newbie with $1500 and a wife pushing for Bose

Let's look at the big picture as a whole rather than piecing individual components together and hoping for the best.

1) How many speakers do you want / need?

2) Does this include a subwoofer?

3) Given your wife's preference for Bose, is it safe to assume that you're looking for "small" speakers? If so, will they be wall mounted, stuck on shelves, etc ???

4) How big of a room do you have?

5) How long would you need speaker cables for each speaker if installed where you think that they will go?

6) Do you have some place to mount the equipment or will you need some type of a rack?

One more question and it is the most important one.

7) Are you against buying used over the internet?

The more info that you can give us, the more appropriate the answers are likely to be. Believe me, would all like to see you get something nice while avoiding the "B" word. Sean
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I have a friend that started out with entry level B&W speakers, and a small velodyne subwoofer, all plugged into a Marantz receiver. The system was priced in your range. I would probably change the receiver to the Panasonic RV45, which wasn't available when he got his system going. I know that the Bose are small and cute, but this system should sound WAY better. Sonny

Assuming you need 5 speakers for surround-sound, subwoofer and receiver I would say go with (4) Paradigm Atoms, (1) Paradigm CC-170 center channel, a Paradigm PDR-10 subwoofer and a Yamaha RXV-1400 receiver. This is a very good quality, basic system that will sound superior to any BOSE system you might find at the local furniture mart. Plus you should come in below your stated spending limit. Good Luck!!!

Trade, trade, trade. Is there something your wife wants or wants you to do (something you've been putting off, perhaps)? Sometimes you've got to give to get. My setup has cost two more horses, three more dogs and all of the equipment for my wife to go into the dog grooming business so far. I'm sure that there will be construction I need to do for all this somewhere along the line too. Support and encourage her hobbies so she'll support and encourage yours, because once you start down this road, you're really gonna need her economic support!

Good luck!

Thank you all..

To answer your questions...

1/2. 5.1 and budget does include subwoofer
3. For me speaker size doesnt matter (she says differntly), I truly want to get the best sound possible so I would say dont worry about size.
4. 16 x 20 with vaulted ceilings 18 - 20 feet.
5. Longest cabling will be 50' each for the rear.
6. I have a TV stand that can hold all my components. I will not mount on the walls, I would rather have stands for bookshelf size.
7. I dont have a problem buying over the internet, if I feel the sources is reliable.

In the meantime I will look up the Yamaha RXV-1400 Receiver and Paradigm speakers.