i would not recommend a digital amplified receiver. i have not heard any that was worth over a $1.50. they just have not mastered the ability to amplify (like a power amp does) in the digital domain yet. digital receivers are weak and distort bigtime at moderately high levels...

pioneer is an OK brand, not much more than Sony and the likes though. pioneer elite is a step up, but at a premium on price...

If the 1070 comes out by the middle to end of May that would be the ticket.
Curegeorg- you seem to feel strongly about the denon receivers from what I have read in some of your previous posts. In one you mentioned that the Denon's DAC's are better than the Pioneer Elite's. Do you know what DAC's are used in each? I have a Denon DVD-2900 that I have been pleased with. It has Burr Browns. I had a noticable improvement in sound when I upgraded to this unit and picture too, of course.

i would have to kinda agree with curegeorg(oh no! )
unless you want to go sony es or pioneer elite,stay away!check the specs on MOST budget oriented receivers(100x6 @ 1KHZ W/1%THD @ 6 OHMS)(example only) those are crappy numbers!that's with a test tone ,6 ohm load and a LOT of distortion.hook up speakers with the ever changing load at different frequencies and you maybe average 40-50 real world watts(and i'm probably being generous)and the freq. range is probably 40-20000hz,that means that killer sub you buy that goes down to 19hz doesn't have that signal.(i keep saying you, although i know you are helping family)
just keep researching,go to crutchfield.com to get ideas and prices ranges,you can download owner's manuals and get a better handle on the products in your price range.
if you don't wanna wait for a 1070,then go for something like integra(upper end onkyo),sherwood,rotel,even denon.i've heard alot of good things about these brands(but denon did get a big slam going up against sony es on a buddy's demo when he bought def-techs,denon couldn't cut it,and i couldn't tell you the model #)

ok i clicked on the link MCH gave you ,went to j&r(i assume music world) clicked on the first "decent" panasonic i saw :
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3964406

look at the specs!!!be careful.don't let the prices get you excited!

Well, you will have to be specific about which models you wanted compared for you. Each model will not have the same dacs. As for the 2805:
"16 Analog Devices, 24 bit, 192 kHz high resolution DACs on all eight channels, in differential configuration". Some more research could reveal the specific model of DAC, but unfortunately for you, I am not a personal shopper.

I was probably referring to the 3805s DACs or 5803/5805s DACs. In which case, those models do employ Burr Brown (i.e. Texas Instruments) brand digital-to-analog converters. However, I was not referring to the specific brand as much as Denon's use of 16 DACs (in differential config) instead of Pioneer's 8 DACs. Though Burr Brown are typically some of the better chips...

Man, there are a lot of reasons why one receiver is better than another. You would need to tell me two specific models which you are considering, then I could pro/con them both against each other.

I am not by any means saying that Denon is the best audio company out there, because they are not, or that they will give you the best sound available, because they will not, but for the money they are a good value usually... They pack a lot of features into their units, have high quality components, and hold up well. The only knock I ever hear against them is their amplification is a little overrated... That is kind of weird to me, because what can you realistically expect from a receiver? I have never heard any receiver that amplified as well as seperates... Some are very good and some suck. I would say that Denon's amplification is very good, though there are better.

For me, I use the Denon 3805 (which had all of the bells and whistles that I needed at a good price) and use its amplification for different zones, while using seperate amps for the main listening area. I do this mostly because I already had the amps, so no need to waste them or sell them in case I go seperates again... I tried the Denon 3805 amping the main room and it was very good at listening levels, I would even go as far to say that I would be happy with it. I just like the ability to go louder than the receiver could go when listening to certain media. Though I would say abnormally loud :-).

if you are wondering how to compare amplification specs:

here is a good way to rate:
8 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, <.05%THD

This example is saying an 8ohm load while playing a signal which represents the spectrum of 20Hz-20kHz producing .05% distortion.

here is a not so good way to rate:
8 ohms, 1 kHz, <.05%THD

This example has the same load and same distortion, but only at a test tone of 1kHz. These amps are FAR from being equal. Who knows what distortion is experienced away from that 1kHz tone, obviously a lot or it would have been rated the other way...

I'm new to posting but I thought I had some Info that might help. I have the following receivers,outlaw 1050,NAD 752,h/k525,Sony 2000es and the Pioneer 1014.The best of the bunch is the pioneer. while i love my outlaw it is dated in the areas of connetions and surround modes.The nad is great with music and good with movies it s only has to have outboard amps to be 7.1.The H/k is a great receiver is very good all around but lacks the pioneer and outlaws dynamics. The sony is the only one that i can not recommend as it is only ok for movies and poor with music. The pioneer 1014 is the elite 52tx without the rs232 and the multiroom output.it sounds great with music and movies and has most hookups any needs now.I am not what you would call a die hard pioneer fan but this receiver aginst these other solid receivers in my opionion comes out on top

Thanks for the comparison.