I agree with glial, I also don’t like bose or the high end cables.. The cables especially, theres nothing like spending 5 grand on 14k gold cables that make little to no difference. I currently have a home theater system in my basement that was put together for about 20k.
I would recommend a DVD changer. I have a 400 DVD changer which is great. I press a button and a list of all the titles in the changer show up on my screen and when I select it, the DVD will load automatically.
Second I would recommend a projection screen and a DLP projector This really adds to the theater experience. The HD on projectors are spectacular as well.
Third, Hook everything up to it! DVD, HD-TV, Game console.. It’s worth 20grand just to be able to play Halo on a 6’ screen.
Fourth, Get a surge protector. They have special ones for this type of equipment and it’s already saved me once. If you don’t buy service plans on anything buy it atleast on the projector, bulbs cost 200–300$ that will make up for the service plan when it burns out.
If I can think of anything else later I’ll write some more..