Hi thanks for taking the time to look at this system and give me some "gentle" critique! I'm a neophyte to the extreme so this is what I've put together from about a week of wandering sites and putting things together.

JBL Home Theater Speaker Package, consists of: CSC55 Center Speaker, 4x CST55 Tower/Floorstanding Speakers, and CSS10 Powered Subwoofer
I'm wiring for 7.1 with wallplates- 2 more speakers soon

Yamaha AVR RX-V1800

Panasonic TH-50PE700U 50" Plasma HDTV

Sony Blu-Ray DVD player Model BDPS301

I'm not sure on any DVR yet to go with DirecTV
I have a Tivo unit that is 5 years old

I was trying to keep it around 5K.
This is going in a 20'X15' room that I'm finishing in the basement. It will be used for XM radio listening/CDs/movies/TV.
Wall board goes up this week so I've got to get this stuff bought ASAP.

Thanks again

Stan

You'll be very pleased with this setup.

I've got the RX-V1800 and love it -- running JBL Venue speakers which are a notch below what you've listed (price-wise). I've got Stadiums in the front, a Voice center, Monitors for surround and a Sub12. It sounds fantastic -- in fact, I've ordered another pair of Monitors for rear surround, so I'll have 7.1 tomorrow. That'll put me at about $900 for the speakers (heavily discounted) and $1200 for the receiver.

You might check out the JBL Venue series. Just looking at the Cinema series online, they appear to cost more, but don't offer as much as the Venues. For instance, the CST55 tower sells for $219 and is a 2-way design with a pair of 5" drivers. The Stadium is a 3-way design with a pair of 8" drivers for about $185. Of course, the proof is in the hearing... My only complaint with the Venues is the "ugly" silver grills. Hope to have some pictures up soon on how to fix that. :)

Consumer Reports says the Panasonic 50PE700 has the best picture they've ever seen on a flat screen, for what that's worth. I'm still shopping for the TV; may go with a 52" Samsung LCD.

Trying to keep it at $5K here also, but I've already blown my $2K estimate for the audio. Speaker wire, cables, connectors, etc... that stuff adds up fast!

No opinion on Blu-ray (yet), maybe next year. I have a Panasonic DMR-EZ47 DVD recorder that works well for now.

Anyway, have fun. It looks like you've found a good "sweet spot" for your budget.