I'm new to the audio game. My wife & I have always loved music but never ventured into buying some of the more expensive equipment. Well, we've raised 4 kids and the last one is out of the house so we decided to reward ourselves. We're supposed to receive the Outlaw 770/950 in a few days, and we just picked up some Paradigm Reference Studio 80's with their CC Center channel. We were shocked to hear how good the speakers sund on our old Kenwood KR-V7040. I'm hoping the combination of breaking the speakers in (just hooked them up last night) and then running them through the 770/950 will blow our hair back. Any suggestions out there on where we go from here?

Tons of suggestions, but first I need to know what you're looking to improve. You give a dollar amount and a goal, and I'll spend every last penny for you. So you need to be clear going in what you're looking for. The sky's the limit!

Jeff

Jeff is right it is alot of fun to help spend someone else's money
Sound cost money.......how loud do you want to go

Lasher

Slow down guys - we're just state workers. I'll be paying for what we have so far for about 10 months. After this initial plunge we decided we'll buy one piece at a time, probably save the TV for last. Left on our wannabe list is:
DVD Player
CD Player (will we need a CD player if the DVD player is good enough?)
Rear Surround (we'll stick to the Paradigm Series - I think they're ADP-40's and the Servo-15 Subwoofer)
What about Dipoles - we don't have a room set up just for Home Theater/Audio - it's our living room and we'll make some minor furniture adjustments - will Dipoles be a plus in a regular, elongated rectangular room?
We need cables, etc. to enhance what we have and already have.
Furniture - like racks - we prefer a modern look and want something that can help hide the cables.
Probably a Play-Station type game unit.
Maybe a VCR, although I doubt it'd get much use.
And last, a television.
We're going to buy something, pay it off, then go to something else. Probably the 1k to 3k range for components excluding the TV -we'll probably pay quite a bit more for that when we're ready to top off the system.
Muscality is more important to us than video.
After that, I guess we start all over upgrading!! This stuff is addicting.
Sorry if this is too long, but you wanted to know our plans - there they are.
Oh yeah, I should be getting Rotel's new encyclopedia so I can start understanding the lingo better.
So guys, have at!

You have just entered an expensive hobby, and a very addicting one at that. As far as a DVD player goes, I would pick up an inexpensive Panasonic with progressive scan, (I like Panasonic because of their reliability. Since you are on a tight budget this brand would be a best buy for the money and its internal quality). You will definately need surround speakers, I prefer bi-polar but this is something you and your wife will have to go and listen to since all the suggestions in the world aren't going to help what both of you like to hear. Do you have a subwoofer? See, this is the problem with this hobby. You won't truly enjoy your 950 or DVD player without the surrounds and sub. Like you, my first love is music, but wait till you experience high quality surround in your home. You are in for a fun ride, so saddle up. My last piece of advice for now: take your time. Set up your system and become familiar with it one piece at a time.

Hey, I just noticed that my surrounds have a split personality, I meant I prefer bipole vs dipole with my room acoustics. Am thinking about the new B&W DS7, they let you select between direct and bipole for music and movie listening.

I have to agree. Pick up a fair priced dvd player to start with. There are some very nice one's at great prices now. Sometime in the near future(I hope) HD-DVD players will be released. Until then I can't see spending alot on a top of the line model. Keep yourself in the $200-$300 price range and you should be very happy. At least till the upgrade bug bites........lol

Lasher