Around $1,000: Receiver or Seperates?

[JonW]

Receiver. With only $1000 to spend you won't even be able to get a preamp (maybe unless you go used) and you'd still need at least another $500 for a used 5 channel amp.

OK. The budget is flexible, though.

Given that I'm so new to this... What, really, is a preamp? Something with all the needed electronics, inputs, outputs, etc. but no power to drive the speakers, correct? I didn't realize they were that expensive. How about getting a cheap ($300-500) AV receiver to handle all the electronic stuff (i.e., a preamp) and then adding amps for power?