RH, my thoughts are in line with Mike's(mwc). Don't worry about not having a nearby HK dealer because if you expected to evaluate it by listening to the "sound", frankly you'd just be fooling yourself. Lots of things can make differences in the sound that's heard, but the amplifier in the receiver is almost never one of them. In solid state amps, when the frequency response is ruler-flat from 20-20,000Hz, they don't audibly change the sound. There's none that add "warmth", " brightness", "punch" or whatever. The recordings, speakers and listening room are responsible for the sound heard.
One feature in a receiver that can make a difference is the automatic room and speaker equalization that some Pioneer(MCACC)and Yamaha(YPAO)models have and you should give them serious consideration.
