Quick summary: Just bought first house, need a home theatre, bought an Onkyo TX-SR607. I wanted to go the full 7.2 route, but after looking at some of the axiom stuff and deciding I want it (plus custom wood/finish? SWEET!), it just doesn't seem to be in the budget to buy it all at once.

Easiest way to put this is: If I'm going to piece it together 1 or 2 things at a time. Which order should I be buying things in? The order I was considering (by product) was:
2xM80
1xVP150
1xEP125
2xQS8
2xQS8
1xEP125

Thanks for any thoughts/opinions!

M80s first, then 1st set of surrounds, then center, then a sub (do get a more substantial sub than the 125, really), then second QS8s.

I would see if other 607 owners have had issues with driving the 4ohm m80's. Other than that, I agree with Ken.

Wow, you guys are fast. Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely have look into whether or not the 607 can handle the M80s. If not, I'll just step it down a notch and get what my receiver can handle.

Edit: Just as a follow-up, I checked Onkyo's site and this is what it says about the front L/R speakers:
90 W + 90 W (8 ohms, 20 Hz–20 kHz 0.08%, 2 channels driven, FTC)
105 W + 105 W (8 ohms, 1 kHz, 0.7%, 2 channels driven, FTC)
110 W + 110 W (6 ohms, 1 kHz, 0.1%, 2 channels driven, FTC)

Is this telling me that even the M50s at 200watts might be too much to handle? Sorry for my very basic questions. I swear I'm a fast learner

Welcome to the forum Scott64,

I would go with a single EP350 (over twin EP125) paired with the M80's. My own personal preference when it comes to order goes mains, receiver, subwoofer, center and then surrounds.

I agree. How big is your room? I would start with a single 350 or higher subwoofer.

Scott, welcome. The M80s should certainly be first(and the 607 would have no difficulty driving them at reasonably high levels). Since the M80s have very good bass on their own, a sub(preferably stronger than the EP125)can be postponed. The M80s can be used to form a "phantom center", so the center speaker can likewise be postponed. The QS8 surrounds add very significantly to the enjoyment of both movies and 2-channel music(when processing such as DPLII is used to extract the natural surround ambience from the front channels and send it to the surrounds where it belongs), so the two QS8s should be included in the first purchase.

Scott, just to add a comment as to power, the maximum rating of a speaker(e.g., 200 watts)indicates what it theoretically could input continually without going up in smoke, but has nothing to do with what it uses in typical listening. The M80s are slightly above average in sensitivity and require less power than many other speakers. For a comfortably loud level 1 watt or a bit less is needed and even on extreme split-second peaks it's unlikely that more than about 100 watts would be required.

What they said.

I'm with Ken on the order of purchasing. What custom finish are you considering? If I had it to do again, I would have started with the Vassalo series (but then again that option was not available in 2003).

Thanks again, guys. So it looks like I'll be ordering some semi-gloss Cherry Chestnut M80s (to answer your question, David) in the very near future. Then some QS8s (same colour) as soon as possible or at the same time if possible. I'll be glad to get the expensive speakers out of the way first. That'll only run me about 3 times what I originally intended to spend on speakers. That's what I get for trying to make an informed decision :P (but I'm sure I'll be happier with them than I would if I had bought a Futureshop special)