The RX-V740 is basically a HTR-5660/RX-V640 with the on-screen display, a phono input, a better remote, and an extra 5 watts/channel. Otherwise, they are identical. There is not HTR version of the 740. You're right that the RX-V and HTR series split basically constitues a form of price protection for the specialty retailers. When Yamaha began distributing to Sears, Best Buy, and some mail order houses, creating that HTR series was the only way they could keep their long-time dealers from rebeling and dropping the line in droves (obviously taking a cue from what happened to companies like JBL when they went after the mass market and alienated their specialty dealer network). Then again, it's not like Best Buy and Sears charge prices any lower than what you typically see with the RX-V series.

Wouldn't surprise me at all if receiver sales were down that far, judging by the number of retailers that have gone under in my area over the past year, the balance sheets of specialty chains like Good Guys and Tweeter, and all the layoffs and other structural changes (like Circuit City firing all of their commissioned sales staffers and going only with hourly sales reps) going on with audio retailers. It seems that this season, if people are spending money on home entertainment, almost all of that budget is going to HD big screens. Once a family's plucked down $5k for a plasma screen, there's not a whole lot left over for the audio portion, unless they go with one of the many HTIB options out there. The only thing that's keeping a lot of independent audio stores in business is home theatre installations, which supposedly remain an area of growth.