<font color='#000000'>You're doing well with that DVD player as everyone suggested. It's one of the two best/better budget models you can get right now, the other being the Panasonic F85. Your Pioneer plays all formats including SACD. The Panasonic plays all except SACD, but it has the advantage of being a 5-disc changer, which is nice for CDs. Other than that, they are a toss-up in many ways. Well done.
On the speakers et al, here's a recommendation to make you very happy for music AND HT and bring you in under budget. You can research all these components, here and elsewhere, like
audioreview.com, and you'll hear great things:
Axiom M22tis - main speakers = $400
Axiom M2is - rears = $255
Axiom M2i - center = $127.50
Sub - hold that thought, depends on budget
Receiver = Harmon/Kardon AVR 325 = $430 at etronics
Total without sub = $1212.50. There are no extra taxes or shipping on the Axioms, that is included in their price. On the H/K, you will have shipping, or tax if you buy it locally. And other H/K models to consider are the AVR330 ($474), AVR525 ($570, highly recommended), AVR430 ($609).
Before explaining these choices, let's talk subs. Decent, music-friendly subs start at $400. The blunt reality is that on your budget, if you insist on getting a decent sub, you will be forced to make some serious compromises elsewhere. The only area worth considering serious compromises is your rear/surrounds ... if you have access to some free or very very very cheap bookshelf speakers that you can improvise and use as surrounds for the time being, than maybe it's worth looking into a music-oriented sub, and you'll find lots of recommendations here and at the Axiom forums site from $400-$550 (Hsu STF-2, SVS powered subs, some Yamahas, others). This could be the way to go, but just be aware, there's no good middle ground with a $1500 budget. The HTIB route is a waste of time ... you'll end up with a crappy sub AND crappy satellites, or at best a good sub but one required to carry too much of the sound b/c the satellites suck. Since you like music, and seem like a good person, START WITH YOUR MAIN SPEAKERS as someone else here suggested. Whatever you do, make sure you get some great main speakers.
This is where the Axioms come in. The M22tis are great main speakers.
My highest recommendation for you would be to cough up a few extra dollars and get the M60tis from Axiom, a floorstander that has close to full-range sound, getting down accurately to 37Hz. Spend some time on the Axiom forum site and you will hear how much people love these speakers. (I do.)
The M60s cost $800, so they will push your budget up, but if you can cut corners by adding free/old bookshelves in the rear, and/or by holding off for now on a sub until you can afford a good one, then believe me you will be psyched and happy.
Either way, with the M22s or M60s from Axiom, you'll be the proud owner of a great pair of musical main speakers, ones that make you HAPPY instead of filled with buyer's remorse. You will love your purchase and want to listen to music a ton.
On the rears/surrounds I recommended: Axiom makes fantastic surrounds in the QS8s, but at $470 they (and comparable surrounds from Monitor Audio, Paradigm Reference, and other good companies) are too much for your budget. Instead, if you buy surrounds, go with the timbre-matching bookshelves. This will give you the chance to have fun with DVD-Audio and SACD, now that you have the universal player that can handle these formats.
On the center -- same deal. Axiom and other audiophile speaker companies make some great centers, but the truth is a bookshelf speaker can handle the center duties extremely well - some people even prefer them over the marketed "centers" because they can have better dispersion qualities. Usually their shape stops people, but if you can accomodate a little bookshelf speaker above your tv, you can save money while timbre-matching and having a great piece of equipment. (Visit the Ascend Acoustics site, for example, and you'll see how they market their bookshelves as centers. This is another good company by the way.)
Regarding receivers, I just listed H/K because they are among the best for power-ratings (accurate power ratings vs. bogus ratings) and they are beloved as a low-end receiver among audiophiles. There are plenty of other well-respected models out there, from Onkyo and Yamaha for instance. These ones I listed are sure bets.
Send back those DefTechs, do it with gusto, and take the plunge. You will be psyched, and you can get very good sound and HT for $1500 more or less.
Birdman
PS - Bit more on subs: If you get into SACD and DVD-Audio, you will eventually want a sub, and of course they are great for HT. I'm just trying to make a recommendation that will work realistically for your budget, with future expansion plans in mind. If you absolutely feel you need a sub now for HT, but can't afford one for music, you might consider a cheapo sub just for HT, like the $150 100-watt Dayton sub offered by Parts Express, or any of the Yamaha or Sony subs well reviewed at audioreview.com. This will tide you over with movies until you can afford a good one .... but to double purchases, it's usually better to renounce now and wait until you can get the good one later. If you go full-bore and get M60s now, you will be able to live that much longer without a sub, even on HT, until you can afford one. Then when you're ready you can make the right purchase once, instead of the wrong one several times, as most people do.</font>