Butrfly, one other thing that would come into play is the size of your theater room. But being that you have bookshelves that are 8 ohms, you should be in good shape unless they are unusually low efficiency, like 85db.
Wanting pre outs(you'd need 7.1) for an amp down the road limits your choices to more expensive options as various brands do not include them except in their higher end models. And since you want to place it in a closet, models that might run hotter should be avoided. Onkyos used to run hot and might still plus they have a spotty record for reliability, so that leaves Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, Pioneer, etc.
I know Onkyos best as I've had 2 and still own a TOTL 5 yr old. Wanting to get the latest features, I'm looking to upgrade too, and I'm looking at Denon. They seem to have more refinement in the implementation of functions, from what I've read, and have better customer service and reliability. I don't know the other brands too well, except Marantz is priced significantly higher for the same feature level.
If you don't need the latest greatest you could opt for a discontinued Denon and save a few hundred. The Denon AVR-3313CI is a pretty good option, loaded with technology and good performance all around. You should be able to get it for 850 online. I want the TOTL Audyssey room correction and Low Frequency Containment, so I'm waiting to get another Denon, the AVR-X4000, which has both but it's much more money.
Good luck with your hunt.
Wanting pre outs(you'd need 7.1) for an amp down the road limits your choices to more expensive options as various brands do not include them except in their higher end models. And since you want to place it in a closet, models that might run hotter should be avoided. Onkyos used to run hot and might still plus they have a spotty record for reliability, so that leaves Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, Pioneer, etc.
I know Onkyos best as I've had 2 and still own a TOTL 5 yr old. Wanting to get the latest features, I'm looking to upgrade too, and I'm looking at Denon. They seem to have more refinement in the implementation of functions, from what I've read, and have better customer service and reliability. I don't know the other brands too well, except Marantz is priced significantly higher for the same feature level.
If you don't need the latest greatest you could opt for a discontinued Denon and save a few hundred. The Denon AVR-3313CI is a pretty good option, loaded with technology and good performance all around. You should be able to get it for 850 online. I want the TOTL Audyssey room correction and Low Frequency Containment, so I'm waiting to get another Denon, the AVR-X4000, which has both but it's much more money.
Good luck with your hunt.