hi folks, thanks for the comments and good wishes. Let's see what happens - now I found out a guy is interested in buying my old Sansui G-7700, so if that happens I will have a few more pennies to spend. If the guy I'm buying the big ol Yamaha from doesn't transport it to the agreed upon place soon, then I may go another way with it - and then I'd look to get a new one with more surround options.
But it makes me suspicious when I see an inexpensive receiver with all these bells and whistles and the thing weighs 16 lbs vs near 30 lbs for the old big guy. I don't know.
We shall see, and I will report back.
thanks again for chiming in!
