Can anyone tell me the difference between a RXV1500 (discontinued) and a HTR5890? have the chance to buy either one for almost the same price?, second question, if I purchase M22 fronts, Qs8, vp150, ep350 as my system, but to to to 7.1 cannot us anything but a bookshelf, which one would I use?

I believe you are on the right track Ferguson. A number of the receivers in the HTR line are exactly the same as those in the RX-V line...just rebadged for a different "class" of retailers (in other words their high end retailers get the RX-V line while the box stores/low end get the HTR line even if they are identical).

It appears the HTR-5890 is exactly the same as the RX-V1600. The RX-V1500 would be very similar to the just recently discontinued HTR-5790.

By the way if you are interested in the RX-V1500, you may wish to check out here - The Audioshop - Ottawa. They are clearing out the 1500 & 2500 receivers at some decent prices. While i personally have not purchased anything from them before, I've heard of many others who have had good experiences with them.

Bob
Welcome. For bookshelf back surrounds for a 7.1 system it is usually recommended to go with the speaker that uses the same drivers that are in the front speakers. In your case, that would be the M2's.

Yep Scott is right, Denon is the same, my 2805 is the same as a 985.

Just for info, I purchased a RX-V1500 Yamaha from Audoshop in Ottawa, half price of what I could get if for inthe West, three days deliver, more than I expected, excellent sale. Now just need the money for the speakers.

The Audioshop is a fine shop. I remember when Mark used to visit this forum a long time ago when they were a dealer of Axiom's. I happen to have bought all my speakers from him. People nowadays would be jealous if I mentioned what I had paid. That's of course not saying that Axiom's at their current price aren't still a great bargain!

glad to hear things worked out for you Bob, let us know how everything sounds when you get the system put together.