Here are the three finalists:
  1. Yamaha RX-V1800
  2. Denon AVR-2808
  3. Pioneer VSX-91TXH
I decided that the all-in-one approach would best suit me mainly because I've only owned receivers, and for me the complication factor is greatly minimalized this way. Call me a mainstream conservative but purchasing separates and/or the more exotic brands are outside of my comfort zone.

The first question I guess would be the final purchase decision. If I end up buying from say, Crutchfield, can I rest assured that if they're a factory authorized dealer that the warranty return/repair process will be handled directly by them and thus making it easier on me, as opposed to buying through Amazon or one of their third party dealers, where I may not necessarily be buying through authorized channels? I don't want to buy from the big box stores because the sales tax is 8.25% here in Colin County.

As far as the auditioning process, what advice can you give me pertaining to what I do when I walk into the Home Theater store? I realize that the chances of being able to listen to the three I'm pondering may be slim, but what I need to know is what do I ask the rep to do for the setup? For example, should I listen to them in Pure Direct mode with no added processing first so I can get a good feel for the amp section's sound reproduction characteristics and then add in decoders and such next?

Speakers: I know I won't be able to listen through Martix 804's, so which ones would compare most closely? I vaguely remember seeing a lot of Klipsch's at the local Best Buy store so if that's what I'm stuck with, which of their models might come close to matching up with mine?

The video processing section, while important isn't really a major concern for me because anything over and above what I have now is just icing on the cake. Truthfully I don't know why anybody would need four HDMI in's anyway, but that's just me. Sound quality from CD's, DVD-A's and (maybe) SACD's is paramount in my decision making process. Two channel audio is what I grew up with, so that has a place in my brain, but surround processing is more important.

So in conclusion, I'd really appreciate some guidance from anyone (and I know there are many here) who have spent time in the audition chambers at the local boutiques. Thanks!


Post Script: If you think this is a good topic, that's fine but please keep your green chicklets to yourself okay?