... and you last had a Yamaha rxv1200 or rxv2200 in your home for a 30-day trial when?
The original poster wants best sound for his HT? Yamaha uses their own DSP chips in their receivers -- I think for surround sound processing they are leagues ahead of many others. The amps are probably not as nice as Rotels, and perhaps the Yamaha's will not help "smooth" over a poorly-recorded source as well as a Denon, or NAD, Arcam or Rotel may, but make sure you get DPL2 at least.
I think the rxv1200 is HUGE value, and I do have "golden ears", and I can tell you Axiom speakers mate very well with the rxv2200 -- I would expect the rxv1200/Axiom match to be stellar. Not to digress too horribly, bang for the buck should be considered as well. In reality you'll be chasing a newer receiver (or pre/pro) with newer HT features sooner than you think (less than 6 years from initial purchase), believe me.
