I went and listened to multi receivers and could hear NO difference between them.. I compared 3 receivers at the same store and basically heard no difference when listening to the same speakers. Went to another place and tried a few more.. Again I could tell no difference.. A person cant possibly fine tune a receiver setting on the shelf and say which one has better sound at the store.. I think you should buy a receiver that has the features that you ARE going to use and not pay for stuff your not going to use or need. Save money on the receiver and spend more on nice speakers which you can hear a difference between. All the receivers are comparable now. Just make sure it rated from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and not only at 1000 Hz like the htr models. Don't get the panties in a bunch about 10 watts per channel either.. Its hard to even notice 10 watts less..Thats my 2 cents on this stuff. It might be all its worth, but I'm not shelling out $1000.00 on a receiver when i could get one for $400.00 and spend $600.00 MORE on some nice speakers.. Lets say i did notice a difference between the receivers (which i didn't) when it came to sound. Then I ask myself is that difference worth $600 more?? NO. Buy a brand you like and trust and buy the features you need and are going to use.
