Nick,
In addition to the Yamaha that Peter recommended, I suggest you look at the
Pioneer Elite 53TX and 55TXi receivers. Their street prices are within your budget -- the latter comes with the FireWire/i.Link digital connection for the SACD/DVD-A players, in case you plan to get such a "universal" player instead of a plain DVD player. At any rate, these Pioneer and Yamaha receivers feature the automatic room/speaker EQ system, which I think is truly valuable.
Also, I would dutifully suggest that you explore the possibility of
front projection instead of a plasma display. I was in your position 10 months ago, but eventually decided to buy a front projector plus a 120" screen for our "living-room HT" -- I am really glad I went down this route. Today's front projection system costs no more than a plasma, and will give you a much larger screen with a more film-like, excellent image quality. The entire system really feels like a home "theater." The only caveat is, if you want to watch it during daytime, you have to be able to sufficiently darken the room.
