Eskimo1

That's how i sold my wife on building ours.. the local theaters are pathetic...[:S]

What they said.. my whole theater is wired with their stuff.

It's not available just yet (December, so they say), but check out Emotiva's UMC-1. Or if you're more patient, the XMc-1 will be out mid-2009. Either one will be great for an upgradeable system that will last for years... P.S. There's a "c" in Klipsch

I'm using a Harman AVR254 right now, though it's not permanent, as I'm waiting for a new pre-amp to be released.. but. It's a good unit. Pretty flexible, and auto EQ works quite well. Decodes all the current suround formats. I can't speak to the amplifier section as I'm using it as a pre-amp, but the OSD is good (if a little bit slow to respond). I don't like that it always tries to upscale the video signal to something, so I manually set each input to output whatis received by the unit, as I'm not very impressed with the upscaling in the unit. My projector does a better job at it. Whatever you choose, if you want it to last as your system evolves, it needs to have a good number of HDMI inputs, decode all the surround formats, have pre-out for an outboard amp, and in this day, I'd expect some sort of auto-eq. If you get the AVR254, do the firmware update as soon as you take it out of the box.. The Yammy 663 was also in the running, but it wasn't available locally...but it's received very good writeups.

I went with the XPA-5, and will be getting the UPA-2 when it comes out to power the rear surrounds. Currently, my receiver is powering the rear surrounds, but I'm getting a UMC-1, so I'll need something for the rears.. At the least, I'd power your front stage the same, so at least a 3-channel, but the jump from XPA-3 to XPA-5 is only $100 , and in normal listening, you'll get more power for the more heavily driven front channels.

Emotiva is talking about one...

KLF-C7! Or, I've been pondering getting a ratty looking KLF-20 and using its guts to DIY a KLF-20 center, but that's another story...

Remember, you'll only be using the KLF-10's from about 60-80hz on up, which they're fine for. When I was running my 12" sub, I had my KLF-20's crossed over at 40hz. I assume the matching center you're referring to is the KLF-C7, or maybe another KLF-10? Personally, what I'd do (and did), is add an outboard amp. I chose an Emotiva XPA-5, but another fine choice (and would still be a LARGE upgrade from a receiver's amp) is the UPA-7, which is a 125w x7 amp for $699. I was using a receiver with a good amp section before, but it's night and day when compared to a good outboard amp. I'm going to piss off the loyalists here, but there are better sub choices than the moderate-priced Klipsch stuff. If you don't want to DIY, you could check out epik subwoofers, the "Castle" and "Tower" are very popular and received excellent reviews.. There's also Elemental designs, HSU, and SVS. I chose the DIY path, but you have to be pretty committed to either start hacking up the walls or consider sub boxes that are >10 cubic feet in size.. But the clarity, depth, and performance for the $ can't be touched by a commercial sub. I'll also second that timbre-matching the front 3 speakers is the most important.

14x24 is not what I'd consider a small room, but... Absolutely. You have almost doubled your area, you'll need more cowbell..er..subwoofer!

Upgrade your Dish receiver to a Vip722 HD DVR, and then you can just skip the commercials! I know what you're saying though - the volume between the shows is annoying as hell!

I no longer like receivers per se, but in your budget, a higher-end Marantz will be tough to beat. That said, if you can find room, a good pre-pro & amp combo (hide the amp somewhere if you have to)can be had for your budget, and would be head & shoulders above a very good receiver.

As was said, you'll be OK, but it's a real eye-opener when you put some REAL power to them down the road, if you like things a little loud at times, or for watching a good movie.

All the modern receivers or pre/pro's I've seen have you set up the unit, and on of the variables is how many speakers you have.

Dedicated, light controlled room, I'd try and swing a projector and a fixed screen, but that's just me. Now that the '09 model projectors are out, you'll be seeing HUGE price drops on the '08 models, and the "gotta have the newest & coolest" crowd will be selling low hour PJ's for quite a bit less than they paid.. A fixed-frame screen can be had for just a few hundred, so for ~$1800, you can have a 100, 110, 120" screen - THAT's a home theater...

Low frequency hearing is one of the last to be damaged by your typical rock concert.. the ear can take a much higher amount of low-freq vs. high freq.. But your don't have to timbre-match the sub.. I'd recommend looking at epiksubwoofers.com, or elementaldesigns.com, and choose the biggest one that fits your space needs and budget.

Not all PS3's have SACD capability - buyer beware. Basically, if it has 4 USB ports, you're good.

If you don't mind me asking, what's a 1050 worth these days? I have one that's back in its box..

This is just my opinion, but the lossless formats are a HUGE step up.. From the minute I spent on google, it appears your receiver will take PCM audio over HDMI, there are options that would let you keep your receiver, and hear the latest formats. A PS3 will decode the formats and output the sound as 8 channel PCM, for example. Maybe look into upgrading your blu-ray player? (Not necessarily a PS3, but something that will output TrueHD as PCM over HDMI..)

I've never heard taps played at the church.. always at the site of the burial. That said, if the cemetary is adjacent to the church, I suppose something is better than nothing, but really, anyone with a trumpet can play it. But, I still can't listen without my eyes welling up, but that's another story over some beer..

By the way, they're doing free shipping right now on everything... would save ya some bucks for sure on the XPA.. My enclosure for my subs isn't done yet, so I'm running my KLF-20's full-range, and we watched a few movies last weekend, and it's amazing how BIG these speakers can sound when fed good power.. and the other speakers can keep up just fine, and NEVER get harsh. My wife has NEVER been happy with me playing movies very loud (sensitive ears), but we had it cranked and she didn't complain at all, even when I asked her. That says a lot!

You'd think that all subs are pretty much equal, but sadly, it's not the case at all, and cost does NOT equal performance. Do you have a good amount of room, or are you willing to cut into a wall? I'm not a fan of small box subwoofers. The best sound comes from a driver that is not beating against a tight air-spring, and only large boxes or infinite baffles (which is really just a VERY large sealed box) can accomplish this. I'm talking about about smooth, accurate, DEEP reproduction below 20hz. It's an addiction.. fortunately, if you're willing to put in a little elbow grease, it's not a terribly expensive one.

Be glad you don't have a grounding plug - all they seem to do is cause group loop issues, of which I'm currently fighting one... [*-)] Seriously, many people has resorted to cutting off the ground or using "cheater plugs" to get rid of the hum.

I bought a used PS3, so that tell you my vote. If you don't like multiple remote controls though, using one of the converters to enable IR on the PS3 is a little clunky in its interface. Also, (it matters to some) - you'll never see the "TrueHD" or "DTS HD" lights on your receiver, as the PS3 does the decoding and passes the signal as PCM to the receiver. The older PS3's put out quite a bit of heat and the fan is clearly audible if the equipment isn't in another room.. (mine is in a room right next to my seating area, and if the door is open, I can hear the fan)

It'll look cool, that's for sure..