<font color='#000000'>Hi Nick!
Whenever I buy new equipment, I try to buy from a dealer that has a generous return policy. I bought my Yamaha RX-V2400 from Tweeter Electronics. They allow up to 30 days to return and gave me six months to upgrade should I choose to do so. They also discounted it $100. Before I bought the 2400 I bought a Pioneer Elite receiver and auditioned it for 3 weeks before I brought it back (full refund) and got the 2400. If something comes out that I like better than the 2400 in the next six month, I'll trade up(they allow full purchase price on trade ups). The bottom line for me is: buy, try, and return if necessary. I've auditioned a lot of equipment using the "buy, try, and return" axiom.
Sorry about you experience with your local retailers. Unfortunately, there are many folks with stories like yours. If you don't mind taking a hit on return shipping, there are a lot of good internet companies with excellent customer service and great return policies i.e, Axiom Audio.
BTW, the Axiom speakers (great speakers IMHO) will work fine with the Yamaha and Pioneer receivers and really any other reputable company's gear. I think its' mainly a question of features although many will say that some receivers "sound" better than others. In reality they should all have no particular "sound" of thier own (barring DSP modes) and should strive to deliver a clean, neutral signal to the speakers.
Speakers on the other hand usually will have a "house" sound or sometimes refered to as "voiced" (some more pronounced than others) so its' important to audition as many speakers as you can. I personally go for speakers that sound the most "honest" to me with the least distortion. Of course everyone has a different opinion as to what sounds "honest".
When buying new equipment, I think you have to rely on a good mixture of opinins, reviews, and finally home auditions when ever possible.
mwc
P.S: See ya at the Axiom forum.</font>