First surround sound system.

Like the title says I'm looking to get my first surround sound system. I recently purchased a Panasonic 55-st30 and am looking for a surround system to go along with it. I have a relatively large space, about 10 X 14 foot space, so I feel like I need more sound to fill it. My budget is around $500 and I already have a blu-ray player. It will be used for blu-ray/gaming a majority of the time and some music other times. I've looked around some andhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004O0TREC/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_g23_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1QYF6XVNXF4Y4QBERJTN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846looks nice, especially at that price. I'm not a "audiophile" but admittedly I do like my bass. Any recommendations or comments are welcome. Thanks.

Ive read alot of reviews for onkyo systems and they seem to have alot of issues with hdmi switching,so i ended up getting a denon avr1712 reciever with a set of polk audio rm705 speakers.I paid 350 for the reciever that i got at best buy,and 250 for the 5.1 speaker set that i got from amazon.Its a little over the budget u have but well worth it imo :)...sorry i tried to send u a link to the products im reffering to but im having trouble doing so lol.

Personally I would put the money towards a 2.0 (or 2.1) and add speakers when your budget allows you. A rule of thumb is said to spend the same on your audio as you do on your video.

If you can afford separates than you really should avoid home theater in a box systems.

I would eventually like to have a system thats on par with my tv but I look at the audio system as something that can be upgraded over time as opposed to the video where its just a bulk, "one and done", purchase. That being said I'm not sure where my baseline shoiuld be for a receiver and speakers. I'm not set on the 7.1 and admittedly I think a 5.1 would be better for my setup. The audio world is also a bit of a mystery to me, so many different models and components, and then trying to find the best combination of them all. Any "go-to" audio sites I could check out?

All out #1 Snell THX Reference as first ofc >

Thanks Boz I'll check that out. While $1000 is too steep for where I'm at right now it is something I'd like to build up to in the future. I have no delusion that I'm going to spend $200 at Best Buy and be IMAX quality for 10 down the line. I do however want to consider my options and get the best baseline/bang for my buck at the moment. Thanks again though for the attempt.

Like the title says I'm looking to get my first surround sound system. I recently purchased a Panasonic 55-st30 and am looking for a surround system to go along with it. I have a relatively large space, about 10 X 14 foot space, so I feel like I need more sound to fill it. My budget is around $500 and I already have a blu-ray player. It will be used for blu-ray/gaming a majority of the time and some music other times. I've looked around some andhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004O0TREC/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_g23_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1QYF6XVNXF4Y4QBERJTN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846looks nice, especially at that price. I'm not a "audiophile" but admittedly I do like my bass. Any recommendations or comments are welcome. Thanks.

SuperHunter