See, now I keep hearing how happy people are with the Onkyo as an entry level complete system that gets the job done.
I keep doing price checks on 'cheap' equipment that seems to be doing well and nothing really comes CLOSE to the Onkyo for price vs. performance - new w/warranty. Yes, there are some online deals and a fair amount of stuff you can get good deal on. But, even the setup listed immediately above will run no less than $1,000.00 (I checked Amazon.com for pricing & eBay as suggested). MSRP is closer to $1,600.00
That is over 100% more than the complete Onkyo HTS-770 setup is! Now, obviously at under $500.00 for the complete setup it will be lacking in about every single area of performance that there is. But, when I needed audio, I went with a $400.00 HTIB setup, then saved up for a couple of years before buying nice speakers. I didn't want to piece together so-so equipment, I wanted a complete system to enjoy for a couple of years, then I got a killer setup. No mucking around with so-so stuff. BIC may sound better and dozens of others will as well, but they don't sound great and if I considered seriously upgrading a year or two down the line, then I would be happy with decent for that time.
I would love to see an audioholics review of that specific Onkyo system as it consistently gets good reviews from people who are just getting into theater. The worst remarks tend to be about the size of the speakers, not about the quality.
Just my 2 cents on it though. Yes, I recommend spending a lot more money instead of going with the cheap solution. But, if you are going cheap, then I think the 770 is the best way to go that I have seen. I would like to hear some other complete setups that are good alternatives that will sound better for a full delivered price of no more than $500.00. I'm definitely open to alternatives, but not eBay once only deals or non-warranty refurb items that a person is taking a risk on. Love to hear options at under 500.