Quote Originally Posted by crash32
I am 90% sure that I am going with the B&W 683's for my floor standing speakers along with the B&W center and surrounds.

The more I talked to the audio techs at the stores .... the more I got confused about which receiver I should get and also how much money I should invest in a receiver. At first I was going to get an Onkyo 805 since it has gotten great reviews, but now I'm not so sure.

50% of my listening is going to be music and the other will be 50% home theatre so a 2 channel receiver is out of the question. Some of the "experts" were saying that I MUST invest in a separate amp, some said that the Onkyo 805 would not be enough and some said it would be plenty. What the heck??

If it will make a .002% difference, I really dont care, but if the difference is going to be significant then I have no problem shelling out more $$$ on a receiver.

I was told that a receiver that is THX certified don't mean jack $hi% and that was only for movie theater purpose. What do I need to look for in a quality receiver that I am going to be using for 2 channel listening AND HT use? I thought that the 130 watts per channel that the Onkyo has was going to be plenty, but some said that it uses the same amp to drive the unit itself as it does the speakers and that would cause distortion.... help me out here guys!!!!!

EVERYBODIES ignoring what you are saying, mainly that you just want to get the job done.
I don't think you will benefit from seperates, they just arent for most people, actually.
SO pick out a nice receiver, cant help you there, you have to go with how you like the sound, the features.
One word of advice...DON'T SKIMP.
More expensive receivers actually tend to be more ergonomic, because they are usually designed better.
When I WENT FROM a 7 to 8 hundred dollar to a 1200 dollar the
jump in fun was huge, more than you would expect, as was the sound.
I recomend Integra, Onkyos "lexus" brand, they look nicer and
construction parameters are closer, and the faceplate is still
a huge chunk of aluminum, not aluminum poser.
GOOD LUCK