Hi Laurie,
Welcome. I enjoyed reading your post; it struck several chords with me.
I have a lower-level Denon (1804) and, as I've observed to this group previously, the person who designed the user interface simply looks at the world in a much different way than I do. It transcends "counter-intuitive" to me.
I would also consider HK and possibly Outlaw Audio. There are many board regulars who have powered similar systems successfully with a wide variety of equipment. There are also Onkyo devotees among us. I am not familiar with the 3806 remote control, but the 1804 was completely useless. You might want to consider the notion of budgeting for a Harmony or URC system remote; the initial investment in programming it will pay dividends on every use.
My counsel on the receiver front would be to download the user manuals for models you are considering and try to get a feel for whether they make sense to you. I hesitate to disagree with Alan, but my experience with the Denons is that the engineering is wonderful but the structure of the UI can be very frustrating. I don't think a 5.1 system including the M60's is going to be a prohibitive load for any of the brands that have been mentioned so far, especially if you are not listening at very high volumes for extended periods.
Is there some reason why you would not simply mount the QS8's on the wall using the included T Bracket? You can get Cord-Mate track to hide the wires easily if you don't want to fish them through the wall.
Good luck. Welcome. Your DH is lucky to have you.
