Which AV Receiver?

Thanks roberjerman.

I am trying not to ask but I’ve just read about the A12 and I’m a little confused.

What does it mean by integrated?
Is there a preamp and DAC built into this amp?
Is 60 watts per channel enough power? Is this suitable to handle/power the RP-8000F towers at 8 ohms?

Are there any downsides to an integrated amp? Applying what millercarbon said above would suggest that there would be reduced quality?

I remember you laher.  You said that you couldn’t use a center channel at all in that situation and wanted a real simple solution which is why I put forth that audio-gd DAC preamp.  You also wanted power monitors and that was the Yamaha studio monitor suggestion.

However, for movie and tv audio, there is going to be a loss of clarity and coherence if you don’t actually have a center channel.  It’s actually harder to hear dialogue clarity in a 2 channel system, but if you don’t care about that, then a 2 channel Integrated will always sound better than an HT receiver for stereo music in your budget.

an “integrated amplifier” just combines a preamp and amplifier into one device.  Sometimes they also have a built in DAC.  That Rotel A12 is an excellent suggestion and hits all your requirements and it has four digital inputs.  However, it’s not actually 120 Watts per channel like robojerman said.  It’s really only 60 watts per channel so it’s kind of lit on the amp side.  That being said, those klipsch are 8 ohm speakers and extremely efficient at 98db, so they shouldn’t be that difficult to drive.   Just keep in mind that you will not be able to get a center channel with this integrated amp direction.

Good memory auxinput, I know you post a lot so that’s very impressive.
Yes that is at my parents place. I am
happy with the setup so thanks again. Just out of curiosity: I’ve removed the sub (Klipsch R-12SW) and that’s going to be used for my setup we are now discussing. So at my parents place is just the Yamaha’s. What would it take to add a center speaker to their setup? Would I need to add in an amp? Or is it better for them to get an AV receiver?

So for my setup, thanks for taking the time to explain what an integrated amp is. Is there no possibility of going this route but allowing for a center in the future? 
As for the Rotel A12’s, should I not be looking for something with more power per channel? What do I need for those Klipsch towers to bring out the best in them? I know you said that 60 watts is sufficient enough but I guess if I’m gonna spend I want to do it right and go for the best I can. Is there any other options which you could recommend?

I’d advise getting the best Marantz AVR that you can for $1k, if that is your budget. Marantz revs models yearly, so the $1k list price AVR will be available for $600 at some point - that’s what I did for my main H/T system (SR5012). Similarly, the $1.5k model (or whatever) will probably be available for $1k at some point. As I recall, the differences between these levels are primarily associated with the number of amplification channels and supported decode logic for Atmos or regular Dolby surround, and to lesser extent with wpc. I only needed seven channels for my setup, so the 5012 was perfect for me (by now that model is probably called the 5014 I’d guess).

I believe Marantz and Denon are sister companies and have similar product lines, but some dealers will tell you that Marantz gets slightly better component parts than Denon and that at comparable levels to go with Marantz (that said, I’m sure there are others who advise just the opposite). I can’t speak to Denon, but have been very happy with my SR5012 powering a 5.1.2 Atmos system (B&W front stage; Speakercraft height speakers (in-ceiling), Paradigm rear surrounds; Energy sub).

My other relevant experience is with Integra, the upscale sister company of Onkyo. I have the DTM-7 stereo receiver as the H/T hub in my 2.1 channel secondary system.

It works well also, but if your AVR is doing double duty for music and H/T, I prefer Marantz for at least two reasons. #1, Heos is much better as a streaming music controller than Playfi is in my experience, and #2 I prefer the sonics of Marantz as compared to Integra. Why is it better, IMO? It sounds fuller, more musical, less forward, and just brings out the emotion of the music better, IMO. I say this even though I currently have better speakers with the Integra system 2 than I do with the Marantz system 1, and it still sounds better to my ears.

So yeah, Marantz is my recommendation. Good luck.

Thanks kren0006 for your input on Marantz. I was looking at the Marantz SR7011 but only the Klipsch forum was advised to get the NAD T 758 V3.

Are you familiar with each? Could you comment on the differences in sound quality, features, specs?

You mentioned Heos being better than Playfi. Do you know what NAD uses?

The way you describe the sonics of the Marantz over the Integra is exactly what I’m looking for. I’m hoping you know about this NAD to be able to comment on the comparison.