I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I have the Pioneer VSX-815 paired with an Athena set-up and I must say it sounded great. I think you will be hard pressed to find a receiver in its price range with the features that it has. I have Athena Auditions for fronts and Center and Micras for surrounds and rears. The Pioneer has more than enough power to power this system.
The bad news is that mine blew an output chip within the first month of operation. I was an idiot and didnt purchas it from an authorized dealer so now I am stuck with having it repaired. I feel like it was a fluke because I have heard of no other similar problems and I lurk around several different boards. When I get it back it is going to the closet to wait until I replace all of my Micras with Audition series and then I will pair it with the Micras for a bedroom HT. I have a Yamaha 2500 coming Tuesday, this time from an authorized dealer.
All in all I would still recommend the Pioneer. I would pay the extra to get it from an authorized dealer just in case you have any problems. I doubt however that you will have any issues with the unit.
