the dilemma (probably common): features or sound

[illwill]

some of you may have read my recent threads in the HT room regarding shopping for a new receiver. well as of today i have basically narrowed the choices down to either the Integra DTR-6.4(retails for $1000, but my dealer says he will give it to me for $860) or the NAD T743($700). I auditioned the Integra on some Energy towers (possibly c7s) and the NAD on Paradigm Monitor 7v3s (i have monitor 3v2s) and i thought that the NAD/Paradigm rig sounded noticeably better than the Integra, which i thought had kind of exxagerated highs and lows and seemed a bit harsh.
the NAD, however, does not have video upconversion (even composite to s-video would be nice), or a dimmable/switchable display, and is also only 5.1 (which doesn't really matter as i'm not planning to buy more speakers anytime soon.) These are all features which the 6.4 does have (along with a host of others that i will never use), and are features which i would find useful but not necessary (i can switch video fine without upconversion, and since i'm building a new system rack i could build in something to block the display if i want.
so the question is.... will i be more satisfied with the convenience of the integra but the regret of knowing the nad sounds better or the other way around? obviously i can not be told the answer to this question, but i was curious to get everyone's opinion on the subject. thanks,
will

other factors which i have to take in as well, but i suppose are kind of irrelevant to the post:
-the integra has a 3 year warranty and the nad only a 2
-i also have a dedicated 2-channel system (arcam/pro-ject/jm-lab), so absolute musical fidelity is not something i am necessarily pursuing in my HT system.

[This Guy]

The nad didn't sound better, the Paradigms did. That was NOT an accurate test at all. Receievers aren't going to be very noticebaly different in the sound quality department. Pick the receiever with all your needs, or try the Integra on the same Paradigm speakers in the same room they were in when you tested the NAD.

[illwill]

it probably was somewhat the speakers, as i do tend to like paradigms very slightly better than energy's. at the same time though, i have heard the energies sound almost as good as the paradigms, and this was a much bigger difference. i was also able to A/B the Integra with a Denon 2805 and the Integra sounded distinctly better, so while i might agree that the integra, in all likelihood, sounds closer to the nad than i think, i can't agree completely with the statement that there won't be noticeable differences between receivers (especially after my experience with the Rotel 1055, which is probably a great receiver for some speakers (b&w), but would not work with mine at all.)
thanks for your comments
will