SVS Speakers or Something Else? Absolutely Newbie.

Just read your post at audioholics, and to answer your last question about subwoofer hookup, no, you cannot use that type of adapter. Looks like your main objective is a home theater for a very large area. The Elac speakers do get good reviews, however they have a low sensitivity. A higher sensitivity speaker would be much better for your setup. The Hsu research bookshelf speaker gets very good reviews as well and has a 7db higher sensitivity. As far as matching speakers, take a look here.

http://www.soundandvision.com/content/matching-front-and-surround-speakers#GsU4hCQPZXlESVeL.97

http://avtruths.com/speaker.html

IMHO, the best sound is achieved with all identical speakers. If this is not possible, then at least use timbre matched in the same series. Definitely do not mix brands. It's ok if the subwoofer is a different brand, and in your setup, I would recommend two subs.

I don't think you'll be disappointed by SVS.  I have their SB2000 sub and they're a great company to deal with and offer very high quality products overall.  If you choose their 7.1 package I'd try to see what it would cost to upgrade to their Prime center speaker and to the PB1000 sub.  A large part of what you hear, and thus your overall enjoyment factor, from movies will come from those two pieces so try to get the best you can. 

Another excellent option would be Aperion audio.  Their 5B package system would be a great option, but to save some $ you could ask to downgrade the four surround speakers to 4B as they'll be fine for that duty.  

Both of these companies sell direct and offer outstanding service, value, and in-home trial offers.  For a receiver I'd get the best Marantz or Yamaha receiver that fits your budget and has the features you need.  With either SVS or Aperion and one of these receivers I think you'll be absolutely thrilled with the results.  If it were me I'd opt for Aperion because they've been primarily a speaker company for longer and use fabric dome tweeters, which I generally prefer to metal dome tweeters in this price range.  SVS gets the nod from me in subs, but the Aperion sub should be fine for home theater.  Hope this helps and best of luck. 

" Get the Elac B5 instead. 7 speakers for $700, another $200 for subwoofer."

Elac is a good sounding entry level speaker. But just 1 pair of Vandersteen Model 1's will put that entire Elac system to shame. A good compromise would be to get the Model 1's and an entry level Sony ES receiver. Both of those should still be under 2k. Then go to Best Buy and fill in whatever speakers you need with the Pioneer's they sell. They're designed by the same guy that designed the Elac. 

At that price range, low sensitivity speaker gives better bass. It’s the laws of physics. Watts are cheap now with receivers, you want to put those watts to use, vs using less than 1 watt per speaker. A $500 receiver can easily pump out 500 watts total.

" A $500 receiver can easily pump out 500 watts total."

So can a $10 hair dryer from Walmart.