Some people like Bose despite the facts.  As for Onkyo, this opinion isn’t based in fact I have read several reviews of the Sony 910 Vs same class Onkyo, the sound quality is comparable but the features offered by the Sony give the nod to Sony, it really doesn’t matter though.  What matters, is after you spend your hard-earned cash are you happy with your decision!
My under $1000 HT system, based around a (Panasonic plasma TH-42PZ77U $1050) include: A/V rec.  Sony STR-DG910 $345 incl. frt. EBay, Speakers Polk Rm20 (1 center, 2 front, 2 rear) $330 incl. frt. EBay, Subwoofer BIC100 $225 Ebay, cables/wire under $50 Monoprice. Everything is Brand New.  Already owned DVD player, Xmas received gift of HD-DVD player.  So I got lucky at Xmas, if I had to purchase a new DVD player it would have been under $100 standard definition.
The big question is am I happy with my decisions. YES!  Could I improve on the setup, Yes, I now need a Blu-Ray player, and a Harmony universal remote.  My original goal was to replace my old TV and HT setup with best bang for buck components that I could afford, no charge, paid for.  Plus, I wanted a system that was better than most HTIB. It took 2 months of shopping and bidding online.  There really is no way I could have achieved the quality of components with out Ebay and online shopping.  The advice about buy from a store with liberal price matching was applied for the TV, and it was the only item I didn’t want to trust the internet or Ebay for.  Sears gave me 3 price reductions, 1st a sales price, 2nd a CC app rebate (I immediately paid it off), 3rd a price match 60 days later with Fry’s sale).

craigslist, monoprice.com, and Circuit City are what I used to create my home theater.

Samsung 32 lcd $600 craigslist
Yamaha receiver $100 craigslist
Boston Acoustics speakers $100 Circuit City
HDMI cables, HDMI switch $150 monoprice

For under $1000 that will last me at least 5 years.

I already replied to the ‘3 HDMI’ comment in my earlier responses.

Only read half this article so far, but am all ready disappointed in the advice.  I’m not going to argue the merits of speaker quality and Bose crap.  What i would like to point out is that you, Jeff Winston, recommended to consumers with a budget to purchase a receiver with 3 HDMI inputs on it then suggested the Onkyo receivers.  They are outstanding receivers that continually get high marks in the sub-$1000 category for receivers, but non of the Onkyo’s you recommended have 3 HDMI inputs.  The Sony models mentioned do, but are far less quality receivers and all the low-end Sony receivers seem to have plenty of issues with their HDMI switching.  People on a budget shouldn’t worry about HDMI switching on a receiver since it is a luxury type of feature.  I’m sure i have plenty of other qualms about your article, but I’ll let it stay at this for now.

People are generally quite opinionated about this topic, and
I doubt there are any equipment suggestions I could make that -someone- wouldn’t object to 8-}  Clearly some people do buy Bose and are happy with it, or they wouldn’t be in business.  I’m quite familiar with AVS Forum and the high standards over there.  But I think that headset can make some pretty-darn-good-sound seem inaccessible to those without excessive income, and what I describe is, I believe, better than the Wal-mart all-in-one systems that can cost just as much.

If you’re not an audiophile or a spec-o-phile, and you put together a modest system as described, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  Although, that’s just my opinion 8-}