In reply to:
Next, neither the Axioms nor the Yamahas(or any other competently designed receivers)are "bright". The Yamaha, incidentally, does have THX certification and should be well-suited powerwise for your needs.
........And there you have it. All receivers sound the same and no manufacture bumps up there wattage rating..........and if you believe that, I have some land for sale down in Mexico that I will give you a great deal on.
I'm not trying to get you going here JohnK but have you actually heard half the receivers you seem to know so much about? There is no way in this world that you can tell me that an HK and a Yamaha sound the same. They don't, plain and simple. You can graph and chart me till the cows come home and I still won't buy it. They don't and no I'm not in audio never never land. I'm not hoping that the HK will sound better, I'm not tricking my mind in to thinking the Yamaha's are bright etc etc.
I can go on in particular about THX certification and the joke it has become but I just can't be bothered debating this crap anymore. You go on thinking that everything sounds the same and if it's stamped THX, your good to go.
