The Chess Addict wrote:

One idea would to be buy
a Sony/Panasonic DVD/CD player, a low end HK/Denon receiver and
speakers (which ones?). Is it possible to purchase the remaining
(satellite?) speakers later? Do I need a separate CD player or these
combo $70-90 DVD/CD players are good enough?

See? Common sense works.

DVD players will do 24/96 sound in order to decode DTS properly,
so they are great CD players as well. My $69(on sale) AKAI is a
cheap unit, but does DVDs, MP3s(nice menu sysem), Karaoke(CD and MP3),
and a slew of other features.

So - that leaves a receiver. Something simple like a Denon
1803 or simmilar Sony, Onkyo... 50wpc plus DTS is all you require.
$200 - maybe $180 on sale.

So - that leaves maybe $350 for speakers. I'd go with two small
towers first, then add a center and surrounds. Something like
Tannoy MXm3 or simmilar would work. Energy, Paradigm, and so
on - all good basic choices as well.

The advantage is they will sound great for music and okay for
movies - due to their 35-40hz low-end. Everything else adds
surround and impact - the quality is still there.