I've been looking at the HT-S9300THX I've read almost 200 post on http://www.avsforum....=1057095&page=6 and they've all been great positive feed back on the older model HT-S9100THX.. so i'd imagine the newer model is better then that. I've been thinking about getting a Onkyo receiver and adding speakers like you've mentioned.. because HTIB speakers aren't the best but, i've read that the receiver in the S9300 is almost EXACTLY the same as the 606, it seems to have everything i need and it's about the same price as the S9300THX.. so i am thinking about getting the S9300 and then if needed upgrade the speakers later on. Positive feedback from those who know nothing about audio and have crappy hearing. You also said it yourself, your room is too small for 7.1 In your budget 2 speakers will sound better than the 7.1 EASILY. I thought Plasmas are poo poo and LCD is the way to go, am i wrong? Yes, completely. Plenty of seriously kick ass Plasma's. However, HTIB also poo poo...that you didn't get right either. http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/plasma-vs-lcd.html in my Room i have a 300 dollar sony 5.1 surround system, it sounds great In my opinion... for my first home theater system it's not bad.. it has "auto calibration" which made things very easy. If you're just an occasional user of a HT system, an AIO system will not disappoint unless it's some piece of shit.