In the $2500 price range, I would look into one of the NAD receivers T765, T775, or T785. In my mind NAD has a good reputation for quality products and this series of receivers are modular so they can be upgraded when new technologies come around. You might have to add in the cost of one upgrade immediately to support HDMI. My caveat is that the only NAD that I've listened to is a friend's older stereo NAD receiver but it has always sounded pretty good to me. When I was looking around, I went with a Denon 3808 because the NADs were out of my price range. Plus I did not find it convenient to go to a NAD dealer as it is to go to a BB/Magnolia (with Denon products) for a listening session.
-Dave
