Best A/V Receiver up to $1200.00?

What's the best and most reliable and powerful A/V receiver available up to the $1200.00 price range? I'm looking at the Marantz sr-8000, Denon AVR-3300, and the Pioneer Elite VSX-26TX. I've heard alot of reliability issues with the Denon and sound quality with the Pioneer. I'm leaning toward the Marantz. My only reservation is the lack of "bell's and whistles" 7.1 and speaker switching. I've also heard the Marantz amp is far superior to the other's. Thank's Danny