John, welcome. This forum is a bit lower key and less critical but there can be good information in all the disagreement and bickering if you can get through it.
I sense some confusion in your second post. No, you will either use an Audio Visual Processor (AVP) with a separate multi channel amplifier or an Audio Visual Receiver (AVR). Most AVR's have pre amplified outputs to use an outboard multi channel amplifier if you choose to later on.
Integrated amplifiers are usually a two channel pre and power amplifier in one component. Mezmo has done a good job of laying things out for you. His bias is towards two channel music listening, so is mine.
You mentioned you will be using this system for home theater and music equally in a small room.
Your first consideration should always be the room and speakers you choose. Together they make up the majority of what the system will eventually sound like. In home theater there is no substitute for a subwoofer. It is the .1. That said, the need for floor standing speakers in such a small space is not necessary.
A general rule for used audio at this level is some where around 50% of retail. Some may consider Arcam a premium Audio Visual Receiver. They have been known for slightly better sound quality but I find their Speaker Setup a bit dated. For instance, in their manual I see your asked to input speaker distances. In modern room correction this is done acoustically and then can be manually adjusted if need be.
I'm on my second HT from 5.1 to 7.1 in a small space. My first setup was using a 5.1 speaker set that used matching drivers but different enclosures. I've since replace the center and rear's with 7 all matching speakers. The improvement in surround balance was substantial. No room is too small for 7.1 just go a bit smaller on your speaker selection. While there is little in the way of 7.1 media so far, the matrixing effect in most modern AVR's and AVP's is very good. With an actual 7.1 production the effect is outstanding.
I sense some confusion in your second post. No, you will either use an Audio Visual Processor (AVP) with a separate multi channel amplifier or an Audio Visual Receiver (AVR). Most AVR's have pre amplified outputs to use an outboard multi channel amplifier if you choose to later on.
Integrated amplifiers are usually a two channel pre and power amplifier in one component. Mezmo has done a good job of laying things out for you. His bias is towards two channel music listening, so is mine.
You mentioned you will be using this system for home theater and music equally in a small room.
Your first consideration should always be the room and speakers you choose. Together they make up the majority of what the system will eventually sound like. In home theater there is no substitute for a subwoofer. It is the .1. That said, the need for floor standing speakers in such a small space is not necessary.
A general rule for used audio at this level is some where around 50% of retail. Some may consider Arcam a premium Audio Visual Receiver. They have been known for slightly better sound quality but I find their Speaker Setup a bit dated. For instance, in their manual I see your asked to input speaker distances. In modern room correction this is done acoustically and then can be manually adjusted if need be.
I'm on my second HT from 5.1 to 7.1 in a small space. My first setup was using a 5.1 speaker set that used matching drivers but different enclosures. I've since replace the center and rear's with 7 all matching speakers. The improvement in surround balance was substantial. No room is too small for 7.1 just go a bit smaller on your speaker selection. While there is little in the way of 7.1 media so far, the matrixing effect in most modern AVR's and AVP's is very good. With an actual 7.1 production the effect is outstanding.