Don't let anyone tell you to take a certain CD. You need to take something you yourself are *very* familiar with. If you take music you've never heard before, you won't notice any subtle details a speaker may be missing. On the other hand, with something you are very familiar with, you will be...
I saw an article a few months ago about this. The main factor is the area of the country you live in. If you are in an area with a lot of high-tech companies, then the employees of these companies find high value in completed home theaters. But other areas comprised of low-tech jobs, the value...
Another option is to check out Acoustic Visions. Kyle has subwoofer kits that come with the Shiva, an amp, and the enclosure kit. So all the wood is pre-cut, you just have to assemble it. There are 3 different Shiva kits that would be within your budget. Check it out at...
I received my Stryke kits just over a week after ordering. Very happy so far with the service from John, which is one of the main reasons I went with his kit over some of the others. John is very active within the forums, so if I have a question, he's usually not too far away.
Another option is the one I'm working on. Take a look at the Stryke S1-MTM(http://www.stryke.com/speakerkits.html#S1MTM). Right now they are intro priced at $155/pr.
I have the Dayton cables and think they're great. The price was definitely right, and they are built well. In my opinion they should be on your short list.
There are quite a few great subs in that price range. The SVS is probably the most popular, but there is also the Adire Dharman, Parts Express has the 12" Titanic MKIII, HSU STF-3. Those are just the ones off the top of my head that are in that general price range. Any of them would be a big...
The Adire Rava looks like it would be perfect for your budget. In all the time I've been on the various forums, I haven't seen a single bad review of the shiva driver. You could also look at Parts Express at their complete kits. Just bolt everything together and you're good to go.
In the past it was true that the projectors were lacking, but there have been so many huge advances, that you'll be amazed at what they can do for a fraction of the cost of that plasma screen. I read an article in a magazine about a reviewer doing a test to see how good these new projectors...
I'd definitely look at a projector. Just to give you an example, for about $2,500 you can get a Panasonic PT-L500U. If you mount it 9' from your wall, that gives you about an 80" screen. It will have a much better picture than a plasma will, plus will save you 7 grand. With that 7K, you can look...
Hell, I'd go one step further. Since wire is so cheap, why not wire for 15 or 20 speakers. You never know what new technology is going to come out and "revolutionize" the industry. JVC just came out with a 9.1 receiver, and I'm sure there's more to follow. It's much easier and cheaper to do it...
Marc, Take a look at speakerbuilder.net. He has quite a few Dayton designs. He designed the 'Pee Creek' speaker around the PE cabinets. He gives all the details including crossover building. Should be everything you need.