OP
Used or new equipment?
My advice would be to go for a used AVR. They have virtually no resale value so if you are willing to forego some of the latest bells and whistles you can pick up something that will sound very good for under $200. I cannot tell from your post if you need a TV and a source (Blu Ray player, streamer, etc) so if you do then you will have to budget for those. If you need a source Sony makes excellent Blu Ray players for around $150 that will also play SACD, if you care. Then I would look at the Audio Advisor catalog for 5.1 speaker combinations from companies like PSB or Monitor Audio.
Used or new equipment?
My advice would be to go for a used AVR. They have virtually no resale value so if you are willing to forego some of the latest bells and whistles you can pick up something that will sound very good for under $200. I cannot tell from your post if you need a TV and a source (Blu Ray player, streamer, etc) so if you do then you will have to budget for those. If you need a source Sony makes excellent Blu Ray players for around $150 that will also play SACD, if you care. Then I would look at the Audio Advisor catalog for 5.1 speaker combinations from companies like PSB or Monitor Audio.