Yeah I just poked around at the 604 manual, it says it supports 5.1 at up to 96khz/24-bit. That is pretty good, and this receiver is available for $400 at J&R. The 605 does 192khz/24-bit with full 8 channel, which is better but not essential.
You know what I think I am going to do though, is just return my pioneer to BB and hold off on building my sound system until after I move, which is anywhere from a month to a few months away. Meanwhile I am going to keep an eye on the prices of the Onkyo 604 and 605 receivers, and see if I can snipe either one of them up at around $350 (the 605 has gone for $399 at CC once, apparently.) I remember not too long ago the Onkyo 504 went on clearance at Fry's electronics and sold for around $150, whereas it was previously $250. I am thinking that the 604 is on the verge of doing the same thing, only not quite as low obviously. Even if not, from what I gather the prices of receivers tend to drop over the course of a few months after their initial release.
Also by that time, I can probably find the onix speakers on b-stock.
Even though I got the Pioneer 816 at a pretty good price, I think I would rather spend that extra $40 on the Onkyo 505 even if I end up not getting HDMI audio, as it sounds like it has a better amp (less power, but less distortion at lower volumes, which is more in line with my goals.)
EDIT: There may also be a benefit of the Onkyo 605 that I previously didn't consider when looking to build a sound system: The 605 offers a scaler that is superior to what my westinghouse TV has. The westy displays awesome 1080p content, but it is just absolutely horrible at upscaling from anything below that. From the sound of it, the 605 includes a superior scaling engine that would make up for what the westy lacks, further completing my home theater. I think I might pick one up from Fry's electronics for 30 days just to judge how well it can improve SD content on my westy, and if it does a good job then it'll be worth that extra $100 over the 604 IMO.
