Need help in making decision for AV receivers

[getvasant]

I am planning to buy home theatre for my 20 x 20 living room. This will be my first home theatre so I am kind of confuse with the terms. My budget for complete HTIB is around $500. I looked couple of Onkyo and Yamaha models but got confused. I will appreciate if someone can guide me. I will be buying 1080p LCD TV and Wii. So I dont want to compromise much with audio and video quality. Also I will prefer 5.1 as I dont have room for 7.1.

Thanks for your help.

 

[alexwakelin]

A complete system for $500 is possible, but as many people on this site suggest, your best bet would be to avoid HTIB. If you do your homework and shop around you can buy separate receiver/speakers that beat a HTIB setup. At most I would say $200 of your budget should go towards a receiver, and if you look for deals you can find discontinued/refurbished receivers in the $100-$150 range. Most entry level receivers will have similar features as well as sound quality. I own the Sony STR-DG510 which was replaced by the 520. Since the 510 was discontinued I found a great deal for $90 (it retails for $200).