uniballer;

The other Outlaws have given you a bit to think about. Here is another point for someone "new". Do you have a spousal acceptance factor or (I guess) significant other acceptance factor to consider?

Just prior to my last upgrade, my wife had been to a friend's house who had the small Acoustimas modules by Bose. She thought that they were great and that they were what we should buy. "Great Sound" and invisible. I wouldn't budge. I ended up compromising. No, I didn't get the Martin Logans I dreamed about. But my Monitor Audios do have a sound that I can more than live with. She isn't thrilled since we have small floorstanders, but, at least she doesn't have six foot tall speakers in her livingroom. I guess what I'm really saying is that you may want your lady to have some say in the system. If you want to take a little risk, even have her go and listen to the speakers to see if she can tell a difference in the sound. "Small" things like the looks of a speaker have been known to cause relatively large spousal problems.

One point that nreyes made was about the amount of space that you'll have in your HT room. Folks at a specialty shop can probably steer you to speakers that will address your needs. From your post, it sounds like you are more interested in full HT sound rather than music reproduction. Some speakers are good at one or the other, or both. Tell the guys at the store how you intend to use the system.

Good luck with putting the system together and more importantly, in your new life as part of a couple.