I have an rx-v2500 and love it. Used to own the 1400 and it for some reason the 2500 sounds better then the 1400.
If you are on a budget then try going for an rx-v2400 if you can get one somewhere. Chances are if a store has it then they might be trying to get rid of it making room for the new models, so you could end up getting it a hell of alot cheaper then retail.
As for the auto setup i only used it to check the wire polarity, to see if the wires were hooked up right, other then that i did the rest manualy.