this is really easy...7.1 will be a little overkill for a beginner and 5.1 will be good enough for most every situation if properly setup. Just get good (matching) speakers and a good receiver and all will be good. I personally like Polk and Denon, but Denon is a little complicated for a beginner, so there I would go Pioneer or Onkyo, Pioneer being probably the easiest receiver to set up.

I would recommend getting a 7.1 receiver, this will allow for expansion and plus most 7.1 receivers will include more features, as you are moving up the product lines for most brands.

For brands I would recommend (through tons of research and personal tests at the $300-$800 range): Denon, Onkyo (they get hot, so for tight spaces be aware), Pioneer and Harmon Kardon.
Sony and Yamaha are OK but they kinda stink until you spend above $700. They pack more features and less performance.


Last piece of advice: if you want receiver upscaling, and if you can stay away from the Faroudja DCDi chip, it's getting old and outdated, Denon just changed to the VRS Anchor Bay chip and it is noticeably better, much much less jaggies.

Wow I honestly could use any one of these prizes, this HP piece of poo I am typing on is getting very old....


...eww old poo

Am i the only to put this together, (I know engadget is always so horny for the iPhone, so probably) the Storm 2 is coming out in late '09 early '10 most likely 2010. It's not because the phone sucks, i have one and am running the Bell .122 OS ( I'm on Verizon) and it is amazing, way better than before and I like it now more than I do the iPhone (I really hope I don't get shot by an Engadget editor after that one). Why wouldn't Big Red not release their powerhouse phone with their new powerhouse network, well first the phone has to be capable, duh, and why don't we throw in wifi even though no one would use it because unless your in asia you're not goint to see speeds over 50mbps and thats only if the router is connected to a fiber optic network. It all makes sense, think about it...

why not? i never win these things anyway

cool i want one

wow this would be amazing especially since im still using a crappy HP keyboard circa 1999, really could use a new one

ok me want really badly I ham a huge audio buff maybe even an audioholic and i am stuck with some old crappy Yamaha hand me down pieces of poo with a magnet 'speakers'. Please pick me, I would be like a 5 year old in a candy shop

dibs

dibs

well i have the HD streaming on my Xbox 360 and it is pretty impressive. And even if your going to only watch the SD movies offered they are I'd say better quality than DVD, and I have a $300 upconverting Denon, with a 720p 32", so I'd think it is worth it. Also the 2500/2550 has Pandora internet radio which is really an awesome service. I think the 2500/2550 is the best player for the money.
Hope this helps, Happy Thanksgiving everybody!