Im having a hard time deciding on which one of these integrated amps/receivers to get, they are both diry expensive And they both sound great, Rotel Crisp clear, HK accurate and smooth; but the Rotel only has 5.1 when the HK has 7.1 - Can anyone recommend any reasons why I should pick one over the other, so far im leaning towards the Rotel; but im wondering if its worth getting 7.1 for future applications...(I believe the rotel is upgradble to 6.1 or 7.1 tho[so Ive heard]); Anyways any suggestions or comparisons would be appreciated if anyone has experience with either/or

Hiya there, freesey!
I researched receivers for quite a while and the finalists turned out to be the h/k AVR 520 and the Onkyo TX-DS 797. On paper the Onkyo had the h/k beat so I was pretty much sold on the Onkyo. When I listened to both receivers at the same time, on the same set of Polk bookshelf's, the h/k sounded MUCH better. The 520 is one SWEET sounding receiver and compliments my Axioms very nicely IMHO.
But my 520 is not without it's faults. I think I have a faulty micro-processor which causes the receiver to act quite weird (PM me if you want to hear more about that).
So I was thinking about replacing the 520, but I honestly can't find a receiver that would satisfy my needs like this one, except maybe h/k's AVR 8000.
In closing, my h/k 520 has served me well and, hopefully, will continue to do so until I make the move to separates.
BTW, I have no experience with Rotel's, so I can't help you there.
Good luck!