I plan on purchasing M22/VP150/QS8 system in about 6 months. I need a new receiver now though. I would appreciate any suggestions.

I am currently trying to decide between the Onkyo 705 and the Denon 2308/888. It seems as though the Onkyo has more features for the money but I heard it can be a little bright with Axioms and Denon might be a better choice. I have about a $650 limit and I need a phono input on the receiver.

My room is 20x15x9 (2700 cu\ft) with wood floors and an area rug. The back wall opens to the kitchen with an open bar area dividing the two rooms.

Any experience and advice on receiver selection is greatly appreciated. - LJ01

I would say that any decent brand receiver in that price range would be fine, just get the one with the options you need. In my opinion, receivers are not "bright", "warm", etc., unless your introducing one of the DSP or tone features within the receiver.

Many people on this forum use Onkyo, Denon, HK, Yammy, Pioneer, etc. with all Axiom speakers as they are very easy to drive speakers that are very efficient.

LJ, welcome. You'd be wise to disregard any nonsense that you may have read about amplifiers in receivers having "bright", "warm" etc. characteristics. Competent engineers design amplifiers to amplify transparently within their designed power limits, with audibly flat frequency response and inaudibly low noise and distortion. For an amplifier to add an audible sonic character to the sound(with its controls for sound processing not in use)would require a substantial deviation from flat frequency response which simply doesn't exist. Blind listening tests have failed to show any of these claimed characteristics; once the nameplates and pricetags disappeared, so did the differences.

If the features of the Onkyo 705 are attractive to you and it fits your budget, it would be an excellent choice for your system.

Thanks sirquack and JohnK. I am leaning towards the Onkyo so now I need to go through avsforums and read the 57 pages of user comments to see what people are saying. Also I noticed last night that onecall has the Yammy 2600 for $599. I will do some research on the 2600 to see if it will fit my needs. - LJ01

"O, that way madness lies"
-Shakespeare, "King Lear"

LOL...The madness is in my head trying to make the right decision.

The Onkyo will do great with the M22s. I use an Onkyo 501 with the Hsu Ventriloquist system and its fine receiver.

Just to throw this out there, you may want to consider that Denon, if you think there might be an upgrade to M80s or something of that nature in the future, as the Denons have proven to drive the 4ohm load with out problems. I currently have about a 3 ohm load as my center channel and my 1804 hasn't shown any ill effects.