Heres my plan, input please.

I agree that an audio club, or one or two local audiophiles who have systems one likes can be good resources.

Sounds like a great plan. I'd say you really are on the right track. It is wise to think HT from the get go when starting out today. Secondly, using the same speaker manufacturer for all surround is extremely wise - many people ignore this, and mix and match everything. Typical manisfestation are many complaints that HT is vastly inferior to simple two channel stereo....well of course it is when you have a "dogs breakfast" of tonality in the same room!

I would add that you may not need the center channel if it is just yourself - try phantom and see how it sounds first. It may be better to get the center channel as the last item. I'd go subwoofer before center channel and then Cremona floorstanders next but that is just a personal preference...

welcome to the game-read all you can and demo everything--it seems you already decided to go ht route- that was my most diffcult decision as i use it 75% tv and hd tivo and 25% vinyl 50's jazz---i started with the cremonas, later added 4 auditors as the sides and rears( i think that was overkill in retrospect-only needed two but i got carried away), and then the cremona center channel and a dd15 sub--you don't necessarily need a center channel but if you use it a lot for tv you'll prob. want the center as ost of the dialog goes through that--i tried a lot of stuff but for my ear and needs ended up with mac 207/mx135 combo and a vpi scout----all bought used on agon-now a year later and in ht heaven i'm demo'ing higher end cables---you're starting out fine, just realize its the search for the holy grail and the more you know the more you want---have fun

Thank you one and all for taking the time to share your experience and offer your comments and suggestions, it is deeply appreciated.
The good news is.. I picked up the Auditors today and naturally couldn't wait to try them out so I set them on top of the console and plugged them in. They sound so good I think I'll leave them right where their at and not use the stands until later. The dealer suggested a REL B1 Sub Woofer, but I thik I'll leave it in the box until I research it. Tax rebates not going very far, guess I better get used to soup, but it's beginning to taste better already. Thanks again.
Cheers, Tensnet

Correction: It's the REL 10" 200W B3. I feel fairly con-fident about the purchase because so far the folks at Magnolia HI-Fi's flagship store here in Seattle have been very helpful.
cheers,