[herr_oberst]

When I got my big tv, I did a lot of research, decided I like the sound of the older Polk RT55i speakers, so I based my system on a pair of those.
Shopping on ebay and cragislist, I put together a 5.1 system that uses
RT55i main speakers
RT35i surrounds
CS245i center
PSW350 sub
(I know there are plenty of Polk haters on this board, but so what? These sound great. To me.

The total for all the speakers, (used, but all were in great shape, just getting broken in), was about 450 bucks.

Power is a vintage Pioneer Elite VSX-39TX, 5.1, paid 200 for, it has PLENTY of oomph for my needs (120wpc x 5) This tuner weighs almost 40 pounds. And it sounds absolutely good enough for me.

It doesn't have HDMI, but that is not a dealbreaker for me. (It was for the guy that was selling it.)

My DVD player is a Pioneer Elite DV-38A. IIRC, it, too was about 200 bucks, used. It is the weak link in the system, but to me, that is totally relative. This system sounds good as a 5.1 home theater, or a 2 channel music system.

Plus, it looks really nice.



This system is all I need. New, these components would have cost a lot more that 850 bucks, and they still work great, sound good together and are plenty adjustable for my room.

(I probably have another 200 in new cables)

You should easily be able to find quality stuff at Costco prices; it will take a while, but if you stick to a plan, components will become available.