hey folks, just want to say thanks again for all the assistance/pointers. i am a "both feet first" type of guy and given what I'm coming from ANYthing is going to be a huge improvement. thanks to both commentary here and my own brief research I think I'm going to take the plunge here:

• VirtueONE with the upgraded 30v power supply (http://store.virtueaudio.com/product-p/vrtu-ia-ap11-1.htm) -- thanks dvenardos
• Ascend 340SEs (http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cmt340m/cmt340m.html) -- $518 shipped for a pair

At this point I'm going to simply go HTPC > V1 > speakers and as I upgrade in the future I will add a sub and then individually build from there.

Whaddya think?!