New HT System *budget $500

[victorvondoom88]

Here you go http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it..._c=site_search

It's not top of the line but it is a whole 7.1 system with speakers, while not great ones by any means. 436.00 with free shipping! Leaves you enough cash to pic up the cables you may need from monoprice. It does have HDMI switching but no TrueHD or DTS-HD MA decoding. Audessey with mic.

It is a good starting point and you can then upgrade piece by piece as funds allow. You will just need a source, like a dvd player or PS3.
In my book this type of thing beats the pants off of a HTiB. Since you'll already have a receiver you can upgrade speakers first. They are the weak point in the package for sure.