brubcca, Thanks for the input its good to hear from someone who knows the area. I have heard of the Paragon Club but I am not really sure if it still around. Thanks also for the hint about parts express. I have gotten some great deals on cables and speaker wire there. They have a location downtown by the Dayton Dragons stadium. I have been a little worried that if I use a receiver and not a prepro that I may be missing out on alot of the the benefits that a seperate amp will offer. I like to have a system that sounds good with music as well as one that will have a dynamic impact on my movies and video games. I have read about the upcoming new surround formats for the hd dvds and I cant tell if you need hdmi or some places that I have read say that you will be able to use one of the existing digital inputs on your processer or receiver but will not get the full resoulotion that can be offered. Like you said I guess at this point it is best to wait and see.