I tried doing research on everything audio but it’s too daunting for me. I know I want 5.1 and I know it has to be HDMI compatiable because I got a PS3. But that’s about as much as I know. I think I’m willing to spend around $500, a lil more, a lot less! What are some good brands to choose from? Where’s the best place to look for sales? Suggestions and feedback is much appreciated! 
a decent HDMI receiver without speakers will cost you over $500
ps3 audio doesn’t have to be through HDMI even tho the video is
i have a Onkyo TX-SR905 for my receiver and I like it a lot
my speakers are m&k and bought them separately from the receiver
they’re really expensive (the sub woofer alone is > $1000)
but they’re awesome
if you just want regular 5.1, you don’t really need HDMI for the audio
if you want lossless or TrueHD audio, then yea you’ll need it
Like the poster above me stated, a decent receiver that supports HD Audio (Dolby TrueHD, PCM 5.1, DTS-HD, etc.) through HDMI is going to start off at about $500. I have a Onkyo TX-SR605 that cost me about $450 back in june and then I bought some polk towers, bookshelf, and center speakers along with a Acoustic BIC Sub for about $500. It sounds pretty good but if I lived in a house (renting an apartment right now) my setup would be totally different.
If you don’t care about HD audio then I would look into a Onkyo, Harmon Kondon, Klipsch, or other decent brand for a HTiB.
A decent receiver is at least $500? So with speakers included, if I want something decent, I should expect to spend $1,000? Ouch! What other alternative’s are there besides HDMI audio? How much would it cost?
It seems that you guys bought a receiver separate from the speakers. Why is that?
Most of the time the speakers that are included in HTiB’s are crap. If you don’t care about HD audio then you can get a decent receiver for $150 -$300.
However if you are really set on a HTiB then I would go with the Onkyo HT-SR800. It’s got a decent receiver with HDMI switching (passthrough only so you’ll need seperate audio via optical or coaxial), component switching, and a ton of inputs and the speakers that came with it are decent and are totally upgradeable if you feel the need to do it later on down the road. And you can get it for under $400.
Based on what you guys are saying and from what I’ve read on other sites, it looks like I should stay clear away from htib. I guess I should piece together my system. So Onkyo is a good brand to go with if I want a receiver with HDMI switching. If I decide to go w/o HD audio, what is a decent brand I should look into?
The Circuit City guy I talked to recommended I get this Polk set speakers, model RM6750. Are those the speakers you got brightsons?