If you're contemplating spending that much money on a receiver, this becomes a bonafide "no-brainer" IMO. My choice would be the Sherwood in a heartbeat ... no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
When buying (relatively) expensive C-E products, performance slides down the scale of important criteria - since the differences in performance become minimal and insignificant as you move up the pricing ladder. Same with features - since unique features from any mfg. are so quickly adopted by their competitors that the uniqueness soon evaporates into thin air.
So, what becomes the most important criteria in my estimation? Reliability and customer support - that's what. There's simply no substitute for a company to care about their customers and be concerned enough for the customer's satisfaction to do whatever it takes to make sure that goal is reached - so that the customer will be inclined to recommend the company and its products to others.
In this context, Sherwood stands out ... waaaaaaay out in front of NAD, in my experience (and in the experiences of others that I've read at these forums). Besides which, I don't think that there's any receiver in the marketplace that would "sound better" than the Newcastle R-965. It's an outstanding performer!
Hope this helps somebody -
