wise old owl
I completely agree with the owl. Spend good on speakers now. With all the uncertainty in the electronics side (51, 6.1, 7.1, 8.1, SACD, DVD-A), it won't hurt you much to wait a year or two to upgrade that side. Today, (much like in computers, unfortunately) the receiver you buy won't be able to deal with some new trick they come out with tomorrow. Speakers, on the other hand, really don't go out of date. You can use them with any foreseeable format for the next 10 or 15 years, so good ones are a "sound" (sorry, I had to) investment.
Don;t get me wrong, Receivers will always be in some state of flux. It just seems that right now we are at a peak of uncertainty. This is compunded by the relatively small number of available movies and DVD's that take advantage of the greater quality. Waiting on a receiver will allow the movie industry to catch up some as well. In the meantime, you'll already have the cornerstone of your next great HT.