SO i’m not sure how big an

SO i’m not sure how big an audiophile you are, but since it’s the bedroom, and you mentioned the importance of being able to play audio withOUT the TV on, here’s my thoughts:

1) Get a SFF (i was going to say a netbook, but not sure what video formats you’re trying for), since their power consumption is super low anyways
2) Get a set of Computer speakers–I’m still a fan of the Klipsch THX ProMedia’s which can be had for around $200, and Logitech makes some great PC speakers as well
3) This way, you can play audio directly from the SFF and then turn the tv off. And if you demand more, you can always use a smartphone or iphone to control it to skip through songs as well

You could do all the above for less than $500, again all depends what else you’re planning on playing through the PC. Less needs = lower specs = lower cost.