When researhing my purchase, I did not have the oportunity to do an A/B comparison with these 2 receivers either but I did do a A/B with HK 525 and Onkyo TXSR-700 using the same speakers (Klipsh I believe) which are very "bright" and I did hear a distinct subdued tonal quality in the HK vrs the the Onkyo. That led me to another store where I was able to A/B the Onkyo with the Denon AVR-2803 and both sounded quite close which led me to look at build quality, performance specifications, and features. The Denon 2803 won out and I'm extremely pleased with it and the M60's VP-150,QS8's and VTF-2. The only thing I've added is an MX-500 remote from Home Theater Master which has brought the whole package together with stunning results. Don't worry though, you'll be happy with with wither and the Axioms!
