Nothing wrong with West Coast Hifi if you know what you're after and they can do a decent price for you. I wouldn't listen to much of their advice, but really people should be doing their homework before entering the shops anyhow so that they can take opinions with a pinch of salt and/or ignore the bullshit. I got my $1700 amp from them for $1400 not long after its release and got a $900 sub off them for $550. Nothing wrong with shopping there if you know what you need.

I'll throw some brand names at you, even though some of them may be out of budget (your ears may sway you to increase it).

West Coast Hifi: B&W and Focal. PSB if you really have to stick to your budget. I also wouldn't touch Bose (sorry Steve) unless you lived in an inner-city apartment where space is at an absolute premium. Overpriced & over-hyped. They're pretty much the Apple of the hifi world.

Douglas Hifi: if you can find an M&K package in your budget, you'll do well. Great speakers and they have plenty of options with satellite/small footprint speakers.

Frank Prowse: Check out Monitor speakers (British), superb value for money. Also super value, awesome looking and some of the most natural speakers I have ever heard are Paradigm (Canadian). Probably well outside the budget but you will do yourself a favour by auditioning these brands just to give you an idea of what is out there for a little bit more money without going overboard.

Yamaha, Onkyo and Pioneer all make a huge range of amps from $500-$2000+
Personally I wouldn't spend less than 1k on an amp. Then see if you can get a nice 5.1 package deal for ~2.5k

Let us know how you go, as it's always interesting to see a) what people try to flog you and b) what other people's ears like.

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