Does anyone have a good recommendation for the best quality home theater platform?

I went through this when building my home theater system. Read all the reviews, went to every store in the greater Seattle area, listened to everything I could find. Even brought a few things home to audition. Tried everything. Started with A/V receivers, graduated to separates, paying attention to everything- how they sound with movies, with music, with the different codecs. Everything from very affordable to megabuck high end as this was going into a great big home theater room that was the centerpiece of a major remodel.

The unexpected conclusion I came to after all of this is that for whatever amount of money you have to spend the best result you can get is with a traditional two channel stereo system. Yeah, I know. Flies in the face of the party line. But its just a fact. Which in hindsight makes total sense. Whatever amount of money you have, it will always buy you a lot better speakers if its two than if its 5. You simply cannot buy a 5 channel amp that sounds as good as a 2 channel amp. Not for the same budget. Speaker cables? Interconnects? Power cords? The situation is even worse.

Classic case of more is not better.

I remember watching Last of the Mohicans on a really good home theater setup. Early on when they first come upon the cabin at night you see the family inside and you hear Chingachkuk calling out something from a distance. I watched it a couple times, never could quite make it out. Until watching it again, same movie, only on my stereo, and you can hear him call out quite clearly, "John Cameron."

That is the first you hear of the Camerons name. But not the last. The Camerons host the town meeting, and are later killed and burned out. Which you would never know if you watch it on a home theater. But you will if you watch it on a stereo.

Home theater, the whole 5.1 schtick, is a crock.