DSQ I voted Marantz, but I would agree with John that the differences would be trivial in terms of power output/SPL. The Denon does tank in much heavier, suggesting a meatier transformer and perhaps a power supply with more grunt. With high efficiency speakers this issue may be of little concern. I have found inefficient bookshelf designs are best when "squint listening"
for differences between amplifiers.
The great thing about your train of thought for future upgrades is the addition of seperate amplifiers. This makes the choice of an AVR more about software/GUI, remote, input switching lag, network connectivity etc. Unfortunately, these traits are glossed over in reviews so the best resource is to get feedback from users. This means having to wait for responses when you're eager to pull the trigger on new gear. Agonizing!
I'm not sure about either model you are considering, but I have found the best features offered in the models I have played with was a seperate sub trim level for stereo listening vs multichannel (not global), bypass video scaling/processing option, and channel (especially sub) quick trim adjustments by remote. Not having to leave your media to use the full screen setup GUI to tweak the sub/center channel trim is very useful.
The ability to remote toggle between direct vs eq'd settings is also very useful for room tuning and initial setup.
