What am I looking for in a Processor

Hey OP,

I do think that for your budget you are making things far too complicated.  I sense the desire to really get high end but also have to keep the budget low, and that's fine but it means you end up with a lot of cables and mismatched speakers and too many devices which in the end are not going to give you a superior experience.

My advice for you is to forego bi-amping, get a solid HT receiver like the Marantz 60.  One big reason is the Audyssey which should let you hand tune your response curves (check to be sure).  Your next spend should be room acoustics, followed by a matching center.

Try

Yamaha RX-A4A (all channel preouts)

(You are confusing the terms AV receiver and AV preamp processor). All channel preouts in a AV receiver will only exist on more expensive models within the same brand. The preamp processor (no built in power amps) is typically more expensive, above your indicated budget and for guys who are serious about multichannel equipment.

Let’s move to a different topic....

The fact that you are using 3 different types of speakers (b&w, kef, etc) in a 5 channel rig indicates to me that.... ugh.......let me say this,... the next time you listen to something in STEREO, use one B&W speaker as the left speaker and one small paradigm speaker as the right speaker. I mean after all they are both just "SPEAKERS" right????? and it should just sound spectacular like that right?????? So, listen in stereo with a left and right speaker from different manufacturers and report how it goes!!

Since you think you can mix speakers like that in a multichannel configuration, your left and right speaker for stereo listening should also be mixed up. That’s the discipline!