I disagree with several of the above posts. I currently use an integrated Marantz SR-18EX A/V receiver as the heart of my home theater set-up. While this is out of the $1000 price range, I found it to exceed many of the A/V seperates in the same range. It is important to realize that many of the people that the companies are targeting with these A/V products are not audiophiles, but high-income individuals who want a good, but simple setup, thus no seperates. As the companies have focused their efforts this way, vast improvements have been made. I initially was going to go with the seperates, but for the money and performance, the Marantz came out on top. The older seperate systems that people are advising simply cannot hold a candle to a newer A/V receiver. Let me see, no THX ultra, DTS, no 6.1, etc. Not really my idea of a bargain. If you need to stay within a budget, you can easily find a one boxer that has everything you need. Also, the Marantz, and I am sure, others as well, can easily handle 2 channel stereo when needed in a pinch. It still sounds great. My point is not to make you buy the Marantz, but to not be too quick to discount the A/V Receivers.
Ryan
Ryan