Ive decided to up my budget and go for the Pioneer AX3 thx amp.
Do you have to have a dvd with thx like marantz's or Onkyo's or can you just work with a thx amp and speaker packages?????

Um, you will need a DVD player if you want to play DVDs. You will also need some DVDs. Maybe I'm misunderstanding the question?

That answer couldnt be more to the point....i seen the thx amp for around £650 which i though is a good price, but when you take into consideration, the dvd player, speaker package and thx masterd dvd's, its not worth the hassel.
What would you say to a Pioneer VSX-D514 amp & Mordaunt Short Premiere speaker package...This would set me back only £617.00..
Also, what pioneer dvd player would you suggest.my budget for the dvd player would be no more than £250..
Thanks for the reply..i'll get a system picked yet

I'm not a huge Pioneer fan (other than their RPTVs), so I don't know too much about their receivers. I would get the 578A for a DVDp, without any reservations. It seems to be a good universal player with a great price (~$150). Otherwise, I like Denon's players. A refurbished 2200 might fit into your price range and would be even better than the 578 for A/V quality.

I almost bought the 578's predecessor, the 563, for our living room until I decided to go really cheap and skip the SACD/DVD-A since that's my kids' area.

THX is 2 things. A quality level and a processing algorithm. Only the receiver matters for the algorithm, generally. And the quality level is often reached in players and movie discs without receiving the THX rating system. I wouldn't worry too much about it. One of the top ten worst DVDs for video quality ever made had THX plastered all over it, frightening.

If you must buy a Pioneer, the VSX-D711 is a much better choice than the D514.
www.shopping.com and search for that unit you will be able to buy just the receiver for $ 148.

JJ Bugsy

Thanks all