Riff, these days it would be hard to make a really bad choice in a receiver. Unless it would be operated beyond its power capabilities(rare except in very large rooms at very high volume)it will provide transparent amplification of what's given to it. In particular, the 2803 is excellent and what you read about "bright" or "tiring" is pure hogwash; the only thing about receivers that might be considered to be "bright" or "warm" is the color of the case. Pick the features that you want at the best price you can get; one feature that should be given special weight is the automatic equalization feature available on some Denon(3805), Pioneer and Yamaha models.
