Christmas Suggestions

[quest88]

Originally Posted by ak_ka

1. Nope. Its a pretty good system as far as HTIBs are concerned.

2. Its a good start. Do look at the Onkyo HT-RC160 too. Essentially the same minus Sirius, and a front HDMI. If you can push your budget up a bit, http://www.accessories4less.com sells refurbed Marantz SR5003 for around $500, which would have better sound, more power, more flexibility in terms of future expansion.
For the speakers, Polks are liked a lot here. As are Klipsch, Energy etc too. Do go out and listen to them, you might prefer a different sound

Good Luck

Great suggestion but for new I would go to a low end pioneer elite.