New speaker setup, $1000 dollar initial budget.

I just bought my first house and am looking to get a speaker setup for my new Panasonic TCP60GT50. I need a receiver and am leaning towards starting with nice 2.1 setup.I would like to keep initial costs below a $1000, but prefer to buy quality. I am willing to buy components slowly. I don't mind waiting a little while longer to increase my budget and am in no hurry and am planning on shopping for deals. That being said, I have a baby on the way and want to get the best price/performance ratio I can. The problem I have is that I am not sure what level of equipment I need. I am no audiophile, but want something that will sound good for music and movies. I have wanted a nice home theatre/music setup for a while, but have abstained due to being in apartments and not really being able to enjoy a good system. I come from a headphone background and am familiar with the diminishing returns on high end audio gear. I tend to be a buy once cry once type of person, but as far as speaker setups go, I don't plan on buying anything on the extreme high end of things.

Having given an impression of what quality of equipment I am looking for, I am a complete home theatre noobie when it comes to audio stuff. I don't know if I should be looking at bookshelf speakers, tower speakers etc. I know I will need a Sub and probably a center channel at some point. I also know that I might want to add rear speakers in the future. I know it is a bit silly, but I would prefer the speakers to look nice as they will be in the living room.

Thanks for the advice in advance, I will be glad to answer anything else you guys need to know to give me advice.

Cole

The room is 16ftWx25ftL, open to the kitchen and a hallway to the formal living and dining room, the is on the wall probably 7 to 8ft from the kitchen. I know this open room is not ideal but it is what I have to work with. My budget is fairly open, I just can't spend more than $1000 or so right this second, I do not mind waiting a a month or two, or buying speakers this month and a receiver next month, a sub a couple of months later etc. I just don't want to tie up a retarded amount of money into this thinking no more than $2000 to $3000 total, fairly flexible though. I want a quality amateur setup that will sound good, I tend to shop for value as I know returns are extremely diminished on the high end side of things.

I was looking and considering the EMP E55ti tower speakers but do not know if they would be enough or if they are more than I need or if there is better options for the money.

http://www.emptek.com/e55ti.php

Ok guys, thanks for getting me started. What do I need in the way of receivers? I think I would like airplay, but I can do the same thing with my TV so I don't know if I really need it. I also know nothing about these speaker brands and quick google search wasn't showing many places that carry the above speakers. Are there any retailers that you guys like to use?

Are these ARX A5's really as good as the review make them sound? They seem like a really good deal for the money. I don't know much about speakers but can give some ideas as to what my sound preferences are from the head phone world. I tend to prefer strong Midrange and highs over Bass. I am definitely not a bass head. I used to think I liked accurate headphones and to some degree I still do, however, after getting sennheiser HD650s then I learned that I prefer a more musical sound, something a little more forgiving and non fatiguing.

What about the HK 1700 for a receiver? I see it gets great reviews and I like the price of $199 from fry's. Is it enough for what I am wanting to do. $199 just seems cheap and I question if it will meet my needs or not?

30% TV, 30% Movies, 20% gaming, 20% music. The AVR1700 was $199 two days ago at fry's, looks like it went back up. It should go on sale again.
Edited by Hey_Its_Cole - 2/1/13 at 12:21pm

Music LOL, You can tell I have been moving all week.

I just bought a Yamaha 773 because of the newegg deal for $480. I now need to make a speaker decision. The problem I have when researching things is actually deciding on what to buy. There just seem to be lots of great options for tower speakers in the $1000 range. I have sort of narrowed it down to the Focal 814's, HTD level 3, ARX A5s. Anything else I should consider? The budget is flexible and can be increased some if it is really necessary. I really like the feedback I have seen on the ARX A5s and the the HTD level 3's. Some reviews seem to indicate that the 814's might be better speaker and are a deal at the price on accessories for less. To give you an idea of what room I am working with. That is from the house listing, but the furniture arrangement is similar except my sectional is angled towards the right side of the fire place where the TV currently is and is much closer to divider coming off the master bedroom.
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