Okay, I'll edit my first post.
Price range is roughly $250-$500 for the center channel alone.
The intended use is going to be Music/Movies/Gaming
Edit - Also, my current L/R speakers are of better quality than my center/surrounds, so that is why I'm going with the new center first. But I'm eventually getting the whole set, so it really doesn't matter anyway.
In making deals one is far better off buying an entire package than to piece meal like you are attempting to do. I would save until I have the money for at least the mains and the centre channel before going out in negotiating for one channel at a time.
Before taking on people's recommnedations, you need to go out and audition as many speakers as you can to get an idea of what you like and dislike in a speaker. As GrantEEv sarcastically eluded to,
What I would do is to take a pad of paper with you, write down the make and
model of each speaker you audition and what you liked and disliked about the
speakers you were auditioning. Was the bass tight and deep or was it boomy and loose sounding? Were the mids life like or were they hollow or just too pronounced? Was the treble irritating and harsh or were they dark and not revealing or were they smooththat made you want to listen for more? How was the imaging?
Bring music with you that you are very familiar with and know quite well. To
make it easier to audition HT speaker systems, listen to the main speakers in 2
channel mode with music. Music is much harder to reproduce accurately then a movie soundtrack so if the speakers do well with music, then they will do well with HT. Speakers that do HT well may not do well with music. When auditioning the center channel of the same brand and series as the main speakers, pick a difficult source like an announcer that mumbles alot. If you can understand what the mumbling announcer is saying, then you have a good center channel.
I would go to speciality stores first and start auditioning speakers first
instead of going to the internet first. Once your likes are determined, you can
mention them here and fellow members can make internet brand recommendations based on your likes/dislikes. The specality stores are better setup acousticaly then the big box stores which will make auditioning a little easier. It will give you an idea of what you like in a speaker.
Keep track of what amp or receiver is powering the speakers you're auditioning. Try to get a receiver/amp that closest resembles what you have or want to get. It just reduces another variable when audtioning speakers.
One thing to keep note off. When auditioning speakers, make sure the volume
levels are matched between the diiferent speaker pairs because the louder
speaker pair will always sound better. Listen to levels that you think you
would listen to most of the time because thats how you are going to be using
them most of the time.
