Rage, a large number of us on this forum run the M80s with the Denon 3808 and it has pretty much all the great features of the 5308 for a fraction of the price, the biggest thing you loose is the Realta video upscaling, you get Faroudja Dcdi instead. Unless you absolutely need the best video upscaler out there, I think there is no reason the get the 5308 and if you do not need wifi for netowrk connectivty then the 4308 is pointless, which leaves the 3808 as the best deal that still gives you network connectity, 1080 video upscaling or pass thru and rock solid amplification.
The upper end Onkyo's are THX rated which means they can support 4 ohm speakers as well if you want to check them out. I really like the feature set of the 906, which gives you vitrually all the same features as the Denon 5308(Reon video not realta though) for half the price, a great deal if you have the money for a +$2000K receiver.
Too expand on Randy's statement a little more, yes there is only a few db's difference between 50 and 100 watts but for some of the more extreme passages in music or a movie the difference can be noticed at louder volumes especially if you have a large room where you sit a long ways from the speakers. You might only need 1-2 watts for 80- 90 db avg. volumes, but the peaks could take 100watts or more(again depending on room environment) which is why so many of these midline grade receivers try to give you around 100watts or more of power, just to cover the peaks in the source material, which will actually protect your speakers from damage because the amp won't be clipping/distorting the signal. It is this clipped distorted signal that will kill speakers fast.
Last edited by jakewash; 11/25/08 04:47 PM. Reason: added realta to reon difference
