Anthony, be aware that a lot of things can seem to make a difference while listening at a dealer, in particular even the slightest difference in volume between listening segments. Since receivers are purely electronic they can't have an effect on the soundstage at equal volume levels; recordings, speakers and listening rooms affect that.
The 1400 and 2400 are both quite powerful THX certified receivers and either should be adequate for your use. One "innard" detail that's different on the 2400 is that it has 15,000 microfarad capacitors while the 1400's are 10,000 microfarads. These store the power supplied by the transformer and the bigger capacitors on the 2400 would give it at least a theoretical edge in being able to supply power at extreme levels for a slightly longer time. It might well be that the 1400 might never be called upon in real-world operation to supply more power than its caps could deliver, however.
As far as sources, you might check out the favorable experience Jeff(jfoxtrot9)reports on his purchase of the 1400 from Etronics.
