Want my first HT to be custom. Advice needed.

Hi there, I'm new to this site but lately I've been thinking about upgrading my sound system. Right now I'm using an old Philips "stereo/cd player/cassette player/tuner" for sound from my TV (since its native speakers are pretty horrible). Recently I went to a friend's house and they had a small receiver and a speaker setup which didn't appear to be expensive yet the sound was amazing. Suffice to say my curiosity was peaked!

I have some vague ideas of what I'd like to do for a HT but I could use some guidance. Here's some things about my situation that I hope will help narrow down incoming advice:

1)The living room is directly connected to the kitchen so it's pretty open. It is enclosed a bit by a snack bar making the viewing area roughly 15x15ft. However, the ceiling slants up to quite a height...it must be at least 20ft (I'll try to get more exact dimensions soon). So I don't know if the high ceiling and the fact that it's ajoined to the kitchen complicates my HT situation but I assume it should be taken into consideration.

2)I'd be using the HT for viewing movies and television moreso than listening to music. Besides, I've never had a nice HT set up so my standards are fairly low.

3)Because of spatial reasons, I don't think I'd go with a set up any more elaborate than 5.1.

4)My TV is a 36inch CRT tube that is a few years old. However, I plan to upgrade to digital viewing within the next couple of years...ideally plasma flat panel.

5)The TV is on a pretty big stand so typically I'm seated 7ft from the television.

Believe it or not but more personal matters should even factor into my HT decisions:

6)I don't wish to spend any more than $1000. The less I have to spend the better...but I'm willing to spend whatever necessary to produce sound better than a typical HTIB.

7)I use a power wheelchair to get around and there's very little ground clearance on it. This means that loose cords would be a substantial annoyance. However, this leads to #8.

I rent and the renters frown upon wall mounting that results in permanent/semi-permanent markings (nails, bolts etc are out of the question)

So I suppose the easiest solution would be to use speaker stands and tape the wires along the wall trim? I'm open to suggestions.

Finally, #9 which is more of a general preference

9)Since my mobility is somewhat limited, the less "running" about I have to do to acquire all of the bits and pieces needed to make my HT the better off I'll be. In the same way I'd like to avoid as many compatability issues as possible.


This all being taken into consideration, I've done a little research and so far this is what I've got. Please let me know what you think.

-Circuit City is offering the Onkyo TX-SR503 for $200 with free s&h (this is after a $25 rebate).

-At least one set of Athena B1s (maybe 2?)

-Athena C1

I don't know what to buy as far as a subwoofer or rear speakers.

Anyways, this post was a lot to digest so I thank anyone who took the time to read it. Please feel free to reply with some feedback and ideas.