You could buy half now, half later?
I.e: Grab yourself a decent amp that will power any future plans (7.1 at least) and grab some nice front L & R speakers and perhaps your sub too. That way, you get a nice sound now.
A while down the track you can buy another couple speakers for the rear + centre channel to get the 5.1 happening.
A while more down the track you might want to add the final lot of speakers to bring it to 7.1 or 9.1.
Much better to buy some nice stuff over a year/couple years than to buy a whack of – well let's be honest, for a $1K budget – very average stuff all at once.
I have and will do similar. Had my amp, sub + fronts (B&W) for a while, with plans to get the rest later. Good front speakers are a fantastic investment when you think about how much % they play of what you hear, and how long you will have them. I know you have a budget but there are ways to stretch it. Half now, half later could be one of them?
