What is recommended for a good quality home theater system without going broke?

I currently have a Philips HTS 3440 DVD Home Theatre System 1,000 Watts. It has gone out on me, still under warranty, and Phillips is sending a new one. We paid $200 on sale.

I know you get what you pay for, but Phillips is a reputable brand isn't it (maybe not with HTS, apparently).

I would love to have a Bose, but I'm a college student and I can't buy a Bose just yet. Is there another reputable brand in the HTS area that I can reasonably afford? Maximum price range for me would be $500 I guess.

Thanks in advance!

What is recommended for a good quality home theater system without going broke?concert venue

For $500 I would recommend Paradigm and they are far better than Bose for price and sound quality..

CINEMA 70 speakers for $129 a pair

PDR-8 Subwoofer $299.00

This is list price, so you should be able to save some $$$.

What is recommended for a good quality home theater system without going broke?events opera theater

You can get a decent system for $500. Go to a high end electronic store though (best buy, Circuit city) and purchase it . Even if you buy a "good brand" at someplace like wal-mart it's the lower quality of the good brand. With electronics it is very true you get what you pay for. Probably more so than anything else.
You should call 2018924880 he hooked up my whole system with in wall speakers for $500. His web address is below.
Check out anything by Onkyo or Denon. They are good quality systems for the price range you're looking for.

weeder