I actually vote for the yamaha receiver. Yamaha has always been a rock solid brand for me for everything i've bought from them. It has a more powerful amp section (more dynamic power), and seems to have better build quality when i've looked at the 2.
the yamaha also has auto-setup called YPAO (yamaha professional audio optimizer) that works incredibly well.
The only down side is that the yamaha menu takes some getting used to, i haven't played with the pioneer menu enough to make any judgement.
I got a yamaha (the htr-5890, very similar to the 1500) because it had all of the features i was looking for for a decent price. You will obviously have different features you are looking for, so if the pioneer has all the features and specs you need, and it sounds good to you, by all means save the $110. But give both a good run through, find a store that has them and play with them for a while, and listen to them, preferably on similar speakers to the Boston Acoustics you are looking at. In the end, don't listen to me or any other individual, and go with the one that suits you the best.
