Ideal Complete System for $5000

Snell is great for HT and also music. Try the Snell C7

yes, buy used, save money

Dude, this is easy.

Buy all from A'gon:
B&W 805S (~$1,800)
Emotiva XPA-5 ($799)
Marantz SR8001 (~$500) This is an older received I'm using as a processor and it works beautifully for everything I've thrown at it to date.
B&W CMC ~$400
B&W 686 for surrounds ~$600

That will put you at about $4k and you can spend the rest on wires and shipping.

I like staying with the well-known brands (i.e. B&W, Dynaudio, PMC, etc)because they tend to hold their value well enough for you to sell later if the upgrade bug comes around. Stay away from speaker brands you've never heard of.

i like the idea of building your system a bit at a time as well. Frankly on a bang for the buck standpoint not all elements are equal. If I had to do it I would go 2.1 to start with. Add surrounds later to go 4.1 and finish with a center last to hit 5.1. If you start with a compromise now that you are not exactly happy with you will always be bugged and now you have a built in hindrance to getting where you want to be, that is to say you will need to dump the old and get all new. Note that a good 2.1 system will serve you well as there is not really that much content on the rears (in most films) and good fronts will easily deal with the dialog tracks.

I like Robr45's suggestion for using powered speakers .

I believe that you will get better sound reproduction than using an A/V receiver or seperate pre/pro & amp , in that price range . Also , you will not have to worry about the synergy between the amp and speakers and can consentrate more on the quality of the signal processing and unit features .

The only real downside is speaker placement in relation to wall recepticles for power . And the I/C's for the back speakers might be tough to find , economically .

Good luck .

I'm sure AV123 is offering some great deals in lieu of the problems the owner is having.

AV123 is offering a deal on a pair of X-Statiks and once X-Voce Center Channel for $999. Add a second pair of X-Statik's for $499. Get the Oppo mentioned above. That leaves $3000 for all the rest, including sub, pre-pro, cables, and the vacation Robr45 referred to.

Five Quad 12l active monitors for $1650 and a good $1000 subwoofer(or a pair of $500s). Then get a top notch pre pro that is a couple years old and some mogami XLR cables from eBay.

Use the rest of the money for a vacation.

My personal suggestion would be for a speaker system from Epos or Silverline Audio. A pair of Silverline Preludes up front ($1200), a pair of Minuets for surrounds ($600) and either a Minuet ($300) or Silverline's LCR center ($600). An Outlaw Audio LFM-1 EX subwoofer ($650) for a sub. An Epos system would include the M16i towers ($2000), ELS3 center ($350) and ELS8 monitor for surrounds ($500), running you about $500 more than the Silverlines. I would go for separates with the $3K you have left: Emotiva Audio has a $700 pre/pro with all the new audio formats, and a 5 channel amp, rated at 200 watts per channel, for $800 (!). The Silverline option would leave you some money for a BD player (the Oppo is a great idea, and is upgradable in the future), cabling and a decent power filter/surge suppressor (I like the PS Audio Quintet, usually priced at $350). IMHO, either system would be as good, although different, than the B&W/Rotel/Velodyne system you mentioned.

Paradigm Special Edition 5.1 system: $3194.00 (Retail price)
Denon AVR-4310CI: $1209.98 (Internet price)
Oppo BDP-83: $499.00 (Manufacturer direct price)

I have heard and seen this system and thought it punched way above its weight. Guaranteed to please.

If you don't need the BDP, you save $500 - spend it on some decent budget wires, shipping and sales tax if necessary.

If the 803S is what your really want, then I'd suggest you build a system 2.1 for now around a pair of used B&W 805S which you could use as surrounds later when you move to a 803 based 5.1 system. That should leave you with about $3000 for a sub, stands and a good receiver.