I did several A/B comparisons with various receivers (although no Yamahas were available for me to test with), and I ended up with the Pioneer Elite VSX-54TX. I have not used mine yet (still boxed up waiting on my factory outlet Axioms to come in 4.5 weeks), but I did audition one are a local high-end audio shop (Pioneer Elite, and a few Denon's were in my price range). The sales guy liked the Pioneer a little more, but couldn't say why. I told him up front that I already had purchased my speakers (I actually ended up ordering them that night), to get him off of that trail and back to the receivers. I asked him to connect up some speakers that he thought were "bright" (since people call Axioms bright), and the Pioneer 54TX sounded great with them. Better than any of the Denon or HK stuff. He hooked up a $4500 receiver and $3500 amp, and the Pioneer still held it's own. Granted, that test was with a $22,000 5.1 setup, so it was hard to make it sound "bad"...
I know that the Pioneer can be had for about $100 or maybe $150 less than the Yamaha, so if you don't get a clear cut idea from someone, money may be a factor too. It shouldn't be the only factor, but may put a couple more "points" in the Pioneer side.
Good luck. This decision is almost as important as the speakers that will be connected to it.
