Surround Sound recievers

walk around best buy (on a weekday) and see what those guys recommend. You can typically buy an entire set with receiver for pretty reasonable that works just fine. Of course someone will come along and say you need to spend 2k to get good sound...you don't. A few hundred bucks will be just fine.
Oh, then buy online, not from best buy directly.

careful now...the only problem is a cheap receiver and surround system is a "gateway" receiver!

Next thing you know, you will be on the audio forums and you'll be buying tuning discs...sound meters...big screens/projectors...etc.

And when it's all said and done in five years or so...you won't watch it and something new will be the rage.

Dirty is right though. For a few hundred bucks you can get a decent entry level receiver from Pioneer, Yamaha, Onkyo, Denon, or a few others. Sony is ok bang for buck on the low end stuff. I've owned Yamaha, Pioneer and Denon. All good equipment. Yamaha might be the best build quality of the 3.

But, there are lots of good brands out there. An old school test for a device is to see how heavy it is. The weight is due to the transformer which supplies power. Heavy equals more robust and less likely to burn out. Look at RMS power and not peak power. For a small system 60 watts per channel RMS is more than adequate.

I just put in a Optoma HD72 projector in my basement and bought an Onkyo receiver with 7.1 channels for $529.00 + $30 shipping. See below link

HT-S6100 Onkyo 7.1 Channel Home Theater System with A/V Receiver


http://www.us-appliance.com/hts6100.html

I built my own screen to fit my wall approx. 110". The receiver is awesome. It upconverts my PS2, Wii, DVD/VCR, Sega Genesis (ya I know it's old but my son loves Boogerman) to one HDMI cable going to the projector. It was easy to install and came with a Ipod dock and a audio synchronization device that optimizes the audio based upon where you sit in the room. So far I have been very impressed with the receiver and even more impressed with the projector.

I have a projector...put up a piece of hardboard and painted it white, with black border.

I haven't had any videophiles up to see it, but it looks pretty good. It's not as crystal clear as true HD, but it makes for a good theater experience.

I used blackout cloth and 1X3 pine boards wrapped in black cloth. I stretched and stapled the blackout cloth to the back of the pine boards and screwed the whole thing into the studs in the wall. Looks awesome and it was cheap.

You can't go wrong with Onkyo receivers. I have owned 2 previously and I have friends that swear by them also. They are inexpensive and reliable. Just make sure you get the right one that meets your needs. Online pricing is much better than Best Buy or Circuit City.