Thanks for the compliment, Monte!
I completely understand your hesitation. Onkyo has been known for having heat issues these past few years, and people are leery of it. The 626 has a fan mounted inside to help cool off the components, and I think the addition of the fan was new to last year's models. I never heard it running, and I'm pretty sensitive to those types of noises. It may have never turned on, though, as it might have a temperature sensor and switch to activate the fan. I have pretty good room for ventilation, too. That said, I only used it for about a week because I prefer my older Pioneer Elite to it. I have two distinctly different listening locations, and Advanced MCACC can store multiple configuration whereas regular Audyssey cannot.
I happen to be a Pioneer fan, myself. I look for the model that has everything that I want, and then try to find/wait for a good price on it. The VSX-1123 was the top competitor to the 626 last year, IMO, but it's $350 on Amazon right now - so out of your budget. There are always sales, though.
That's a 7.1 system, though. The 5.1 systems are less expensive, and it just depends on what features you want. Denon makes nice gear, too. The
AVR-E400 is a fantastic receiver, but the remote sucks (ahem, only runs the receiver) and it has the same Audyssey system as the Onkyo. The only experience with this year's models that I have is the
Denon AVR-S900, which is the update to the E400. I wish that I'd had the chance to audition the new crop of Pioneer's, but I wasn't that lucky.
For a preamp, other members here know better than me. There's a member named "TLS Guy" that tends to recommend those things. I tend to just go to Amazon and look for a highly rated yet good value unit, like the
Behringer Microphono PP400 for $25. I haven't been bashed for those recommendations, yet.
So, maybe they aren't too bad.
