Re: Home theater question
yes, you will do better in the long run with buying the best pieces you can afford in each category and upgrading them over time.
before you go any further, see if you can listen to the HTIB next to something you could afford in separate speakers. (thins may be difficult.) the point is to see if you hear a big difference or not. some people don't.
with a budget of $1200, i'd recommend spending as little as possible on the receiver. there's a 5.1 onkyo for about $350 now with good features and connectivity assuming you need HDMI. i wouldn't spend any more than this. given your overall budget.
that leaves about $850 for center, 2 fronts, 2 surrounds and a sub. I'd look at about $400 for the sub, SVS pb10nsd is a great way to go if you can swing it. I's spend most of the remaining $450 on the center and front speakers and not more than $100 or so for the surrounds.
of course i haven't factored in cables or shipping. for the cables in this budget i wouldn't spend more than $50 for speaker wire and sub cable you can easily do this at partsexpress (under $40 for a sub cable and 100 ft of 14AWG wire).
there are too many speaker choices and combos to list and only your ears can tell you what you like (so you should listen to as many speakers as you can before you buy). but if i had your budget these are two options i'd consider:
get the SVS sub i mentioned earlier
(PB10NSD) $450. fill out the speakers with energy from audio advisor for under $400 for this
center,
these for the fronts and
these for the rears.
OR
contact
saturdayaudio.com and pick up 3 of the PSBC1's on special for $140 each ($420 total), the monitor audio ASW100 sub for $300 and ask them if they can throw in something decent from their used selection and ship it all for $800-850. they might also be able to sweeten the deal with cables too. as an independent seller, they are both more willing and able to negotiate deals to complete sales.
good luck with whatever you choose...
