If you can wait six months, there will be several receivers on the market with HDMI 1.3. You don’t really need it, but might as well have it – again, if you can wait. I would not buy anything without waiting for some user comments. Onkyo and Integra both have some feature rich receivers about to hit the shelves, and in about six months, there should be enough on the streets to ask users what they do well, and what they don’t do well. They are all under $2000.
If you have to have something right now, there are several that you can pick from for under $2000. You need to decide what features you want/need first.
Seeing how you have M80’s, and I don’t know how loud you like things…….I’ll assume you are like me and like it loud.
#1 I’d probably put the Denon 4806 (refurbished) at the number one spot. It does everything well.
#2 Even though I have a couple issues with my Marantz SR/8001, I’d put it at number two.
#3 Denon 4306 CI
#4 Marantz SR/7001
#5 Denon 3806
#6 Yamaha RX-661
The Yamaha is slightly under powered for M80’s, but you can crank the hell out of them before it will shut down. And for $500, it’s a no-brainer. It’s a great little AVR that will tide you over until the 08 models hit the shelves.
I like Denon and Marnatz because they all have great power supplies, they handle HDMI switching very well, they all have Audysey room correction and they all process HDMI Uncompressed Audio off BR/HD dvd’s very well. They do not have any of the odd bugs that plague the remainder of the HDMI receivers out. (low LFE, will not matrix 5.1 PCM, etc).
If you don’t care about HDMI, and do not ever think you’ll need it, then there are numerous others available.
If you want video processing, you definitely need to wait for the new models. The only thing out now that does video processing well is the Anthem D2, and it’s a $7000 pre/pro. Personally, I do not want an integrated VP in a receiver. Today’s display devices come with better VP’s than what’s in the AVRs.
