Consider buying used receivers (or any audio gear for that matter) from Audiogon or Canuck Audio Mart. These units are usually good deals but of course, they would not come with any manufacturer warranty if bought used.
These are the best places to find good deals IMO.
In regards to the AVR vs. separate power amp, price to performance certainly gives a nod to the all in one unit, however, in buying used components one can easily put together a "higher end" system for similar or lesser prices. (i don't follow the dogma of "higher end" for the most part, but you can get some really pretty units that originally cost 2k for less than $800; who wouldn't want to buy that used 80k Porsche for only 25k? They're just so darn pretty).
