What the... Huh? (lost noob in the world of audio)

[bruss01]

Ok...

For the past umpteen years we have been using a (good quality) portable stereo (RCA jacks) connected to our TV. Just this past November my wife convinced me to upgrade to a six speaker system. The sound is OK, really not better than the old boom box (which is still a great little unit, let me tell you). Still using the RCA jacks on the TV. Our last big sound up grade was from mono to stereo. That was pretty amazing in itself.

Don't get me wrong, I like good sound, I'm just not willing to pay the price of a car to get it.

So we're doing a home entertainment upgrade (getting a big Samsung tv and blu-ray), and I'm told people nowdays use "receivers" to improve the audio. Ok, fine... I want something that will produce a significant improvement without costing as much as the new 52" TV. I've read of some receivers going for 2k and higher, and that's just not realistic for us IMHO. If it's over $250, it's likely going to have to wait... a few years...

Also bear in mind my wife is not a technophile... she will get frustrated if she has to turn on the tv... no sound? turn on the receiver... now switch the audio input to the dvd player... no wait that's the xbox... now it's set to aux... AARRGH! Seriously, it needs to be TURN ON-GET SOUND simple or she will insist on it being taken out.

Any suggestions? Is this realistic for us, or should we just pass on the whole receiver concept? If it won't provide a substantial improvement at reasonable cost while being simple to use, then IMHO it is not worth it for us. For instance, if the BEST SOUND THERE IS is a 10 and what we have now is a 3 (AM radio being a 1) then I want to be able to move up to a 5 or better for under $250. Realistic or lost cause?

Thanks.