Romeo
If you are still considering the HK AVR635, last night I stumbled upon an awesome deal for the Canadian marketplace. Check Costco online out. $1000 is by far the cheapest I've ever seen this HK priced in Canada. As you said, they are way exensive here in Canada when compared with US pricing.

I love HK's versatile base management system (can set different crossover frequencies for front vs surround vs centre speakers etc. which can come in handy in a home theater setup where the base for the different speakers taper off at different frequencies).