The 8801 is not really a good deal. Their amp really isn't either. Not that they are bad, but they are pricey for what you get IMO. I would ask that you be very aware that any in-wall speakers will bleed noise over to adjacent rooms significantly. For ceiling speakers, this is also the case for any rooms which are directly overhead. I like using in-walls and in-ceiling speakers, but I've taken care, mostly through bad experiences, in ensuring that adjacent areas won't be disturbed by my use of in-wall/ceiling speakers. That said, if you want to go with some solid power behind those speakers to really get a lot out of them, then why not consider something like the RX-880 from Yamaha, then pair it with something like the XPA-5 from Emotiva, or even go with the MM8077 from Marantz. Depending on what speakers you want outside, you may want an external amp for those speakers as well, which means you could double up with two XPA-5 amps from Emotiva to deliver a lot of power outdoors, as well as having 200WPC across all the indoor speakers. The A/V receiver/preamp doesn't need to do much more than deliver clean sound to the preouts which Yamaha can do nicely in a lower cost product which should make you happy. Finally, consider what sources you want for outside. You will have a very limited number of analog audio inputs regardless of most manufacturers, and you must feed analog audio for zone 2 sources. So, if you want 7 sources available outside, you may need a different, or an additional, product to get it.
