Thanks everyone for all the reply’s and time you spent on them. I’m still undecided and i don’t want to just jump and buy something being unsure of what I’m buying...
Is it really worth going with separates? What are the benefits? Say with an emotiva upa-7 x 125watt and $1500 pre-amp? I keep seeing that AVR's aren’t really putting out the wattage they claim. Do you actually get the full 140 watts per channel from the Yamaha RX-A3000 (7 x 140) and Denon AVR-4311CI (9 x 140) or is that just the wattage rated at 2 channels or something like that. Which one is going to put out more wattage the avr's or the emotiva?
I also don’t know if that’s two much wattage for my speakers. I don’t even know if my speakers should be more watts then the amp or less watts then the amp.
And how about the Audyssey MultEQ XT32? Is it really what its cracked up to be? I have an older version and it didnt really work to good for me. I always liked my own adjustments better.
I think with the answers to these questions i will be much closer to a decision. If i missed any other key points please elaborate on them as well.
Thanks again everyone! I really appreciate it!!
Given your speakers, unless the manufacturer is lying about the impedance, there will be little or no advantage with a separate amplifier over a receiver of the level you are considering. In general, the reason to get a separate amplifier is if one has difficult to drive speakers (i.e., low impedance) or inefficient speakers that require tremendous power. Otherwise, it tends to be money spent for nothing. Also, many people who do buy separate amplifiers tend to buy one that is so insignificantly different from the output of the receiver that it is a waste of money anyway. It takes a doubling of power to get just a 3dB increase in sound level, and that is not a tremendous difference (if you have a volume control marked in dB, put on some music and turn it up and down 3dB while it is playing, and you will notice that it is but a slight difference). So, to get just 3dB more than 50 watts, it takes 100 watts, and to get just 3dB more than 100 watts, it takes 200 watts, and to get just 3 dB more than 200 watts, it takes 400 watts, etc. So if you really need more power than a good receiver, you should be looking at very powerful amplifiers. If, however, it is an impedance issue, then a lower powered power amplifier might be fine.
As for the receiver power rating, when a multichannel receiver is rated at 140 watts per channel, that means that it can put out that much power into two channels simultaneously (unless they specify otherwise). It does not mean that it can put that much power out into all channels simultaneously. Although you might suppose that that is bad, it really isn't a big deal, because music does not generally require all channels to be at maximum power at the same time. Read this article:
http://www.audioholics.com/education/amplifier-technology/the-all-channels-driven-acd-amplifier-test
So, regarding your specific question about the Emotiva power amplifier, the Emotiva would be worth getting if you had low impedance speakers, and it will probably put out slightly more power than the receivers you mention. But not enough to be worth getting, unless, of course, you had low impedance speakers, which it can handle and those receivers probably cannot. But you have supposedly 8 ohm speakers, so that should not be an issue for you.
As for the power rating of the amplifier versus the power rating of the speakers, they do not need to match at all. What matters is that you have enough power to drive your speakers loud enough to satisfy you. That also, of course, is dependent upon the speakers being capable of playing as loud as one likes, which is not always the case, as some speakers cannot play as loud as others.
Indeed, the power ratings for speakers are practically meaningless anyway:
http://www.audioholics.com/education/loudspeaker-basics/loudspeaker-power-handling
http://www.audioholics.com/education/loudspeaker-basics/loudspeaker-power-ratings
http://www.audioholics.com/education/loudspeaker-basics/loudspeakers-power-ratings-part-iii-the-test-results
As for the automatic setup in various receivers, they typically do some things well, but not other things. They typically are good at setting the relative levels and the delays. But they typically are bad at setting crossover points. However, that can be set manually with just the knowledge of the capabilities of the various speakers involved, and does not require a sound level meter like setting the levels requires (well, requires to do it right). Now, I have no experience with the very latest versions, and maybe they have dealt with previous shortcomings, but I think they are useful for setting levels and delays, even if they are not always good at everything else.
