Both the Sony XBHR and the Sharp Aquos are LCD. Here's the ultimate test of what are two good units: take a DVD of high action razzmatazz and see which one you think is better at solving motion blurring. Realize the differences are minor yet one will appear better. Chose that one no matter the price. Tip: if you can, take the whole family to get their reaction.

As for surround sound, if the salesman is more interested in commission than customer satisfaction, turn away. Not all are as good as dougaha as you're finding out.

Look for a good package set of surround speakers at about $1,000. Check out what's being offered at Costco. You will need an amp (about $350-450) to compliment the speakers and, frankly, you can't go wrong choosing a name brand. What you're looking for is 5.1 sound.

The plus of buying a package set is that all speakers are timbre matched and you'll have a Really Good System that will blow your socks off. Trust me on this. You don't have to spend mega bucks.

Rough figuring. If you spend $1500-2000 for the TV you're getting a set that will last you for years and will be a real nice source of enjoyment. Spend $1,000 on a speaker set and you'll have surround sound the kids will say, “Wow!” Then add an amp at about, say, $400, and your outlay is $3400, give or take not including taxes.

You didn't mention what feed you have so I'll assume it's cable. Cable can give you a resolution of 720 so if the amp doesn't upscale to that level you'll have to wire your set directly from the cable box to the TV and use a separate feed into the audio system. Not hard to do but you need to understand this. Michael's Dictum: if the store you're thinking of buying the TV from doesn't help out of this then don't buy the set. It's your dollars and if they won't help then don't give them the dollars.

One last thing. I realize you have a Blue-Ray X-Box but that's the only source you have of 1080. Is that worth buying a 1080 set? Frankly, the difference between 1080 and 720 isn't that much. In fact, it's hard to tell the difference in normal viewing.

For an outlay of about $3500 you can get a very nice system

MichaelR