ElyrionX said:
Take your time. Even if you start with just the fronts, a quality stereo setup can be very impressive. Just add speakers as your finances allow.
Tweeters are a problem if kids are around. Half the time the speaker grills are on.
For hard to drive speakers, separates are a must imo. A dirty little secret most companies don't tell you is that their power ratings are not usually when all channels are driven. For instance, a receiver with 7.1 90watts per channel might dip to 75 to 80 watts in a really intensive action sequence. The power ratings are sometimes given in stereo mode, not for all channels driven at the same time.
With a separate quality amplifier, this is not an issue. If it's 120 watts per channel, then it will be 120 real watts with all channels driven.
Also, I look at receivers as a jack of all trades and master of none. Heat is an issue with many receivers. With seperates, your prepro and power amp have their own dedicated heat sinks and power supply. They don't have to share everything in one cramped box. Another plus for separate amps is that they are always good. It's the one part of a setup that conceivably you might never need to upgrade. You can keep it forever, and just upgrade your prepro. You can't say that about receivers. 4 years ago, there were no receivers with HDMI. In the span of a two year period, that all changed. It's now par for the course, until something else comes along.
