I'll just throw in my 2 cents here and say that after owning two HT receivers (an Adcom set of power amps and Pro Logic processor, replaced by a high end Pioneer Elite receiver), I bought the Acurus 125x5 (available now for $800 or less, on Audigon) and the Acurus Act 3 processor (available for under $1000 on this site) and could not believe the improvement in sound quality, dynamics, bass, life, etc. etc. I only use these units for HT and TV watching, but recently I've also started listening to one of my tuners through the system too because the sound is that good--good enough for 2 channel audio! I paid more for my Acurus pieces several months ago, and have watched as the prices have come down, and just want to alert you that for only a little over your budget (well, maybe $500 over) you may be able to find them and never look back. They are so far superior to the receivers I had and have listened to at a local dealer's (Yamaha and Sony and Marantz), it isn't funny.
