separate av receiver or onkyo ht-s760-novice

[zasu]

I am attempting to update a very old system & am quite overwhelmed. Have the dvd and cd player as well as new tv. Currently have the bose 3 speakers which I know are not much. System use would be %50 movies and 50% music. Also rooms are very small if that makes any difference. Finally I was hoping to connect two rooms in the future so that music could be played in one while watching movies in another but that is not strictly necessary. With that said, should I purchase a new receiver and later purchase speakers or purchase a combined system like the Onkyo ht-s760? The receivers (and price range) I am looking at are the Pioneer vsx-d912K, the Onkyo txsr501 or 601 and the yamaha rx-v640...then later upgrading the speakers. Or is the onkyo ht-s760 which is includes a receiver and speakers any good or even better than the above receivers? Thanks!

[markw]

I'd suggest picking up a decent, multi zone receiver first.

Generally, you get a better product and more flexibility when you purchase items separately. Odds are that you won't be satisfied with the speakers included with HTIB systems (few here would be) for any length of time.

Then go for the speakers. If $$ is an issue now, at least pick up the front R/L mains and the center at the same time. These should match.

Select these by listening to music, not movies. Be crtitical. Virtually any speaker that does well with music will do well with HT. Sadly, the opposite is not true. Many speakers sound good on HT but lack on music.

If possible, you may want get the matching surrounds, but these matching the fronts are not as critical as the three fronts for HT purposes but if multi channel music is in your future, they should match.

.. and don't skimp on a subwoofer. This can make or break a good HT system.