Sautan, two pieces of advice ...
First and foremost, given where you are in your investigative process as of September 20, 2014 and the considerable amount of money that you plan to spend, PUT COMPLETELY OUT OF YOUR MIND ANY NOTION WHATSOEVER of getting "the system before the house warming party October 24, 2014." That is simply not enough time, period, exclamation point!
Second, don't worry about anything at this point other than the speakers. And to start that process you first need some sense of how much of your budget to devote to speakers. If total budget is $40k, that suggests to me a speaker budget probably in the $18k-$22k range). Whatever that budget number and whatever the number of speakers you are thinking about (2, 3, 4, 5, whatever), zero in on only those speakers models that fit within those constraints AND that you are in a position to audition in person. In other words, identify the specific speakers within your budget that you will be able to actually hear by going either to dealer showrooms or to audio shows or to the homes of other audiophiles.
Once you identify the speakers within your budget whose sound you like the best (based on your own in-person auditioning), then begin the process of investigating the remaining system components with the objective of selecting components that will fit within your remaining budget and provide the best synergy with your speaker choice.
First and foremost, given where you are in your investigative process as of September 20, 2014 and the considerable amount of money that you plan to spend, PUT COMPLETELY OUT OF YOUR MIND ANY NOTION WHATSOEVER of getting "the system before the house warming party October 24, 2014." That is simply not enough time, period, exclamation point!
Second, don't worry about anything at this point other than the speakers. And to start that process you first need some sense of how much of your budget to devote to speakers. If total budget is $40k, that suggests to me a speaker budget probably in the $18k-$22k range). Whatever that budget number and whatever the number of speakers you are thinking about (2, 3, 4, 5, whatever), zero in on only those speakers models that fit within those constraints AND that you are in a position to audition in person. In other words, identify the specific speakers within your budget that you will be able to actually hear by going either to dealer showrooms or to audio shows or to the homes of other audiophiles.
Once you identify the speakers within your budget whose sound you like the best (based on your own in-person auditioning), then begin the process of investigating the remaining system components with the objective of selecting components that will fit within your remaining budget and provide the best synergy with your speaker choice.