He wants to buy new. Upgrades are possible within a year. Any standout receivers out there for descent money? He has a Pioneer Elite DVD 45A so the Pioneer is an option. What's the price on it? Anybody had any experience with it?
Also, any thoughts on the HSU vs. Outlaw sub?

I don't know about receivers in that price range - may do some research into it at some point for a co-worker, but currently I can't offer much. I know I liked my Yamaha receiver many years ago, but that doesn't necessarily reflect on the current generation of their products. As for HSU and Outlaw subs, the LFM-1 was designed in partnership with Dr. Hsu so the two are going to be very similar. I happen to really like my LFM-1.

I have a Yamaha RX-V630 (I think that's the right model) that I bought a couple of years ago and have been satisfied with it, though I don't have much to compare it to. I have not had any problems out of it anyway. I am in the same boat, I have not had any experience with their newer products either.

you dont want a pioneer, maybe a pioneer elite. with the stress on maybe.

the 1050 is old, so its a good thing he doesnt want a used receiver.

it sounds like to me that he is asking the wrong person to help him put this system together if you dont know what is what... (sorry to throw that in, but it was something funny that I observed...)

Be nice, curegeorg. He posted here asking for information, not grief, and he has clearly been doing some research on his own.

my bad, I should have put a smiley face at the end... ?

I came across something that might be relevent to your search, Cargo. It seems that the HK AVR-635 has a software bug that could be a major headache, particularly for anybody using a 6.1 or 7.1 speaker setup or trying to use Logic7. The way the unit recognized Dolby flags causes it to always switch back to straight Dolby Digital - so if you want to use Pro Logic IIx to get surround back channels running or you prefer to use Logic7 all the time, you have to manually select it each time the signal resets (which includes changes in the signal format for commercials on some HD channels, changing channels on satellite or digital cable, and even pausing and re-starting DVD's). HK is working on a software fix for the 635, but there's nothing available yet that I could find. There's a lengthy thread at AVS about this issue and the 635, but it doesn't say if other units in HK's current line (which presumably share at least some software) are also affected.

I don't think digital recievers was mentioned. So I'll add that the Panasonic digital recievers seem to be a very good bang for the buck. The XR50 or XR70. The most celebrated Pansonic digital seems to be the XR45, which is hard to find now. Also the JVC digital lineup is getting good reviews. The RX-F10. Most of these recievers are quite inexpensive. I auditioned the Pansonic XR-25 while my Outlaw 1050 was in for repair. I was quite amazed at how well it compared to my 1050.
Try this link for more info on these digital amps.
http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/viewforum.php?f=43

Thanks for the info. I think that the HK's have been ruled out. He likes the Pioneer and it seems to be in the lead, but the Denon is still under consideration. I will check out the Panasonic receivers. Thanks for the link.

Just wait for the 1070.......you know it's coming!