What to look for in a proper sound system?

[Urzu1000]

There is a TL;DR section at the bottom.

I want to set up a 'very' high quality sound system for a home theater setup as a present to my wife. Mainly for watching movies and listening to music. I don't know what to look for in sound equipment. There are a lot of inconsistencies that don't make a lot of sense to me, such as the difference between subwoofers VS woofers, etc. I'm more or less a newbie. I prioritize directional surround sound when choosing headsets for myself, as I'm a gamer, but a high-fidelity music system setup is different than simple surround sound. There are numerous articles on these subjects, but most of them are for normal people, and they list brands and types before solid specifications. I'm looking for advanced recommendations and tips, so I can get it right the first time. I need an enthusiast's advice for finding sound system components in detail. Can anyone give me a good place to start, or some advice on what specs to look for? Links are appreciated too, if there's good articles covering this which I missed.

TL;DR Section: Can anyone give me solid advice (from an enthusiast's perspective) on what to look for in specifications, and any additional advice or links that would benefit me?

Any tips for doing it on the cheap would be a bonus, but isn't required!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Urzu1000]

@ien2222 First of all, I just wanted to say "wow". You really went to a lot of effort to piece all that together for me, and I appreciate that.

I think I have enough recommendations from everyone that I have at least a basic sense of what to look for, and all these recommendations certainly won't go to waste on me. Hopefully I can have everything set up by Christmas, but if not, I think I can manage it for her birthday. The boxes I can just explain away as computer equipment. Trying to sneak a large rug into the basement is going to get me a weird stare though.

If I could, I would pick several answers here for "Best Answer", but sadly, I'm only able to select one, but to everyone who helped - I appreciate it.

 

[ien2222]

No problem,

Any questions just ask.