How do I start?

sah, you may want to go the receiver route to begin with instead of getting all seperates.
1. I would get the speakers first, get something that you'll keep over time. Just get the front channel speakers to begin with. In my opinion the speakers are the foundation.
2. Then go for the receiver (making sure it can drive the speakers that you got).
3. Then add the surrounds, the center and the sub.
4. You can connect the whole thing together with less expensive cables and IC's to begin with.
5. Until you really get the receiver upgraded to an amp and preamp processor, there really is no need to go nuts on cables.

If I was starting, this is what I would do.

my 2 cents.
-aj

You've got some good advice already especially mine :^). Seriously, there is a way to build a nice little system to start out with. You can indeed start small with a complete system and then add on to it a little bit every year. There are a couple manufacturers that make 1-box units that do it all. Classe and Linn make very nice little pieces that have cd, fm tuner, pre-amp and amp all built into one. Add a nice little pair of monitors (book shelve speakers) and your there. I almost put the Linn Classik in my bedroom with a small pair of B&W speakers once, but the thought of downsizing my current system was unbearable.

You guys are great for answering me so fast. I've been researching for about a month and I thought I would get a receiver first. I have an older Home Theater in a box from Onkyo that just has Pro Logic. I thought it sounded pretty decent in my apartment. Now I have a different apartment and a family, which is why I can't spend all my money. I've pretty much narrowed my choice of getting the Integra 7.2. It doesn't have Dolby Digital EX, but I'm guessing the 7.3 will come out pretty soon. I'm thinking that maybe I should go the receiver route instead of the preamp amp route. It seems a little less confusing, althouth I got the chills looking at the parasound equipment (Glen, I haven't bought anything yet and I'm already stuck!). The local shop sold NHT speakers and I thought they sounded great. I admit though, I'm a newbie and probably can't tell the difference as well as you all can from other speakers.

My system will be mostly for movies and not as much for music. My room is about 15' x 25'. I liked the receiver because it has some flexibility for multirooming. I definitely want to wire my whole house when I get one (who knows when that will be). While I just said my receiver is mostly for movies I would like to someday play music throughout the house.

I'll continue to monitor the responses. Thanks again for the input.

NHT's are nice speakers, especially for a modest system (at least initially) - a good receiver can drive them nicely, they're made to be place relatively close to the wall, they work very well in a dual-purpose role (HT and Music). And, they have a line that extends from budget up to pretty darn nice, so upgrading while keeping the basic sonic signature is achievable. I'd start with a pair of NHT's from the VT series - the 1.4's or 2.4's specifically. It seems very possible to get some used 1.4's and a used Denon 3300 (or similar level) of receiver for around $1500. That would set you nicely on the road to never having money again :-)

Start at the source and work your way back to the speakers. Buy the best DVD player you can afford and then match what you buy to the source. If you don't get the best possible sound and picture off of the DVD your wonderful speakers are not going to add it later. Good speakers are a waste of money if you don't have the electronics to go with it!
1) DVD
2) TV, if you are still in the market
3) Pre-amp
4) Amp
5) Speakers
Don't forget to get the best sounding/looking cables you can afford to buy.