receiver recommendation please

[mjcouvi]

I am purchasing three pairs of in-wall Speakercraft MT8 Three speakers for a 6.1 surround system. I would really appreciate some receiver recommendations or at least some guidelines on what sort of specifications I should be looking for. I would like to spend somewhere around $1000. Is that reasonable?


Some info on the MT8 speakers:

Features:

8" Aluminum Cone Woofer
2-1/2" Aluminum Dome Uni-Pivot Midrange
1" Aluminum Dome Uni-Pivot Tweeter
Front mounted buttons allow for up to ±3dB of Bass, Midrange & Treble adjustment
Timbre-Matched to AIM8 Three, CRS8 Three, CRS Three and MT Three
AcoustaCell is included

Specifications:

Efficiency: 90dB 1W/1m
Power Recommendations: 5 - 200 watts (undistorted)
Impedance: 8/6/4 OHMSdepending on button settings
Frequency Response: 39Hz - 20kHz ±2dB
Dimensions: H 16-5/8" x W 10-5/8" x D 3-3/4"
Wall Cut-out Dimensions: H 15-1/8" x W 9-1/8"

[mjcouvi]

I have read that the receiver needs to be as powerful or more powerful than the speakers that it powers. Does this mean that i need a 200 watt per channel receiver to power these speakers? please help

[kexodusc]

No, your receiver doesn't have to be more powerful than your speaker's ratings...and you aren't likely to find a 6.1, 200 watts per channel receiver for anywhere near $1000 bucks. At least not one you'd want to purchase.

Lucky for you your speakers should will fine with far less power requirements. Their efficiency is 90dB at 1 watt. That's loud enough, and you're only at 1 watt. More than 200 watts is probably unecessary unless your room is well over 1000 square feet.
For $1000 you have many excellent options available. I'd start with Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Marantz, and Harman Kardon, but there are others.
The Yamaha RX-V1400 or RX-V2400 and the Denon avr-3805 are very popular on these boards because of their auto calibration/equalization features. They have plenty of power and will make your speakers sing without much distortion. Many nice features are available with these models and easily fall under your budget.
I'd recommend you use the above models as a starting point, if it's not enough receiver for you, move up from there.
Cheers.

[poneal]

Yup, for a $1000.00 your not going to be able to go separates for that many channels + a preamp. My recommendations are the same as kexodusc. These are very good starting points. Good luck and enjoy your system.