We've been using an old Sony HTIB for several years now and with the PS3 and the nice new TV all bought, we need something better for the sound. We'd like to keep with the smaller profile speakers and my wife would really like wireless speakers for the rears. I'd like to have at least two optical inputs since we still have our 5 disc DVD player hooked up alongside the PS3.

Any recommendations in the $400 range?

thanks

I happened to see this on Techbargains, note, this is not a recommendation, I do not own this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882108355

Hmm, I'd like the ability to move up to at least 6.1 sometime down the road.

get the receiver first. With 400 you can't get everything that you want and have it be any sort of upgrade.

For the $400 budget you are going to struggle. I concur with prior recommendation to buy a good quality receiver as a building block and use with your current HTIB speakers. Harman Kardan is a good brand and you might find something on ebay sold direct from them as a refurb. for a good price. The seller name is harmanaudio.

I would then make a plan to get a good sub, some good front left/right speakers, a good center channel. And then surrounds.

I don't know of ANY good wireless speakers, they are always a compromise in sound quality. You might want to consider investing in a contractor to run some wiring in the walls if that is even a possibility for the surrounds.

I'm on the opposite side of the fence on this. You could have a $5000 AVR but if your listening with Bose speakers (no offense) then your just not gonna get better SQ if you were using a $500 AVR.
In my opinion speakers will make the biggest impact when it comes to SQ.
My suggestion would be to use the Sony AVR you have now and use all the $400 for speakers. I would go to saying to use the $400 for just replacing the fronts and use the rest of the speakers for the rest. You can then save to replace the rest little by little.
I would not skimp on a sub,I would at least look to spend around $500 or more on a sub(ID one).

To echo what others have said, $400 for the entire package isn't going to get you much of an improvement, if any at all. My recommendations would be:
-- Triple or quadruple your budget

or

-- Use the $400 for new main L/R speakers
-- Save your money and upgrade the rest incrementally in this order:
1. subwoofer
2. center channel
3. AVR
4. surround speakers

If your wife is dead set on no visible speaker wire for the rears, a pretty good DIY option is to run speaker wire behind the baseboard trim from the front to the back of the room and into the wall at the back. Once it's at the spot on the rear wall where you want the speaker, you can run it up behind the drywall to a new junction box with nice, clean speaker terminal connections.

What did you spend on the TV? On the PS3? I wouldn't spend less than that on the audio.

I thank everybody for your comments, but since the current system is still actually functioning, and the wife is currently en route to the vet (with a pet, I should add), we're going to wait.

Thanks again.