I have the Paradigm reference 100 v2 fronts with the rest of the Paradigm reference HT speakers including a pair of studio 20s for rears running 7.1 with Anthem AVM20 v2. I also have the Anthem MCA50. I have been down this path as well and built the home theather portion first, then integrated 2 channel into my system. I think you will be hard pressed to find another speaker system that will out perform the paradigm setup for the money. Be careful when auditioning the 100s as they do take a while to break in and they also need at least 200w driving them to show what they will really do. A less expensive route to start would be to look at the studio 60s which are great speakers, but really need a sub in place for home theater. I would recommend a relatively cheap dvd player that is progressive scan only if your tv can take advantage of it. Why? Because most dvd players today are very good and you must spend quite a bit to get the good stuff. I would rather see you get a nice cd player and a cheaper dvd player to have both 2 channel and HT up front and the source is key to 2 channel. I went with the Ah Njoe Tjoeb 4000 with upsampler. With Amperex tube upgrade you will not find anything better for the money. The Anthem products are quite awesome at their price point. I would suggest buying the MCA50 over two separate amps unless you have plenty of room for 2 amps. The MCA5 mkII is another great alternative and can be found for under $1000 used. The AVM2 vs AVM20 hmmmm. I would strongly recommend the AVM20 if you can shell out the money. You will not need anything different for a long time, but if you do the AVM2 you will be wondering, what if I had.... My last upgrade was to drop in a nice 2 channel preamp with HT bypass. I wanted to preserve the XLR connections in my system and after talking to Kevin Deal at upscale audio I settled on the Cary SLP2002. Wow!!!! Now I feal like I have the best of both worlds. I think eventually I would like to try some different 2 channel amps, and then there is the continual question of which cables to buy but all in all I am quite pleased. The Studio 100s continue to amaze me as they seem to only shine when upgrades are made. To end it sounds like you have roughly $7500-8000 to spend.
AVM20 v2 ($3400 retail, around $2700 used)
MCA50 ($2000 retail, around $1400 used)
MCA5 mkII ($1600 retail, around $900 used)
Studio 100v2 ($1900 retail)
Studio CC ($500 retail)
Use you current DVD player unless you need progressive scan
Ah Njoe Tjoeb 4000 with upsampler and Amperex tubes (~$1100)
Cables - I would buy cables from Audiogon, I went with Nordost because of their quickness, which is awesome in HT. ($300-whatever you can afford) Cables do make a difference but diminishing returns set in given your front ends capabilities.
End total = Roughly $10,000 retail, which no one should ever pay. I would expect at least a 15% discount if not 20% if you purchased some of this new from the same dealer. Down the road you could add the 2 channel preamp if you think you need it. The AVM20 is really quite a nice preamp in itself, but I found a tubed 2 channel preamp worked better for me. Cary SLP2002 ($3000 Retail).
I did not mention a sub, but paradigm makes a killer sub for $700-800 the PW2200 and the servo 15 is $1500. Both are awesome for the money. Otherwise Rel is my suggestion if you really want a great sub that can shine for 2 channel listening. Storm III (~$2000) or Stadium III (better for HT at $3000).
AVM20 v2 ($3400 retail, around $2700 used)
MCA50 ($2000 retail, around $1400 used)
MCA5 mkII ($1600 retail, around $900 used)
Studio 100v2 ($1900 retail)
Studio CC ($500 retail)
Use you current DVD player unless you need progressive scan
Ah Njoe Tjoeb 4000 with upsampler and Amperex tubes (~$1100)
Cables - I would buy cables from Audiogon, I went with Nordost because of their quickness, which is awesome in HT. ($300-whatever you can afford) Cables do make a difference but diminishing returns set in given your front ends capabilities.
End total = Roughly $10,000 retail, which no one should ever pay. I would expect at least a 15% discount if not 20% if you purchased some of this new from the same dealer. Down the road you could add the 2 channel preamp if you think you need it. The AVM20 is really quite a nice preamp in itself, but I found a tubed 2 channel preamp worked better for me. Cary SLP2002 ($3000 Retail).
I did not mention a sub, but paradigm makes a killer sub for $700-800 the PW2200 and the servo 15 is $1500. Both are awesome for the money. Otherwise Rel is my suggestion if you really want a great sub that can shine for 2 channel listening. Storm III (~$2000) or Stadium III (better for HT at $3000).