I think the $700 might sound like a lot to spend now when you already enjoy the 60s, but ask yourself how long you'll keep the new setup.
In my case, after listening, I really cannot imagine replacing the 80s or the receiver in less than 5 years, which is how long I had my last setup. Of course, time may prove me wrong, and everyone's situation is different (jakewash and his revolving door of subwoofers comes to mind) ;), but if you're going to have it at least that long, you spread the $700 out over a long period of time, and get one helluvalot of enjoyment out of it to boot. (trust me, you will feel LOTS better once you've made the decision)
Not to mention, the Denon has some fantastic networking capabilities that I think are really worth the upgrade if you have a home network and are interested in streaming music from your home computer... plus the ability to do firmware updates in-house without taking to a dealer... all of that adds up to a lot of value in my book. Plus you mentioned you've got the wife's approval? Don't second guess yourself any more my friend, it doesn't get any better than this!
