I am in a big confusion. I need to buy a Home Theater Reciever that goes with my Polk R50 ( front and surrounds ) and Polk CSi3 Center Channel Speaker. I play CDs and DVDs 50:50 ratio. I like real Warm Music, but not too bright. At the same time I like Real Zip in Home Theater Effects. I have boiled down my options to 4 receivers in this order of preference.
1. Marantz SR-5500 ($600) 2. Marantz SR-8400 ($560 in auction) 3. Harmon Kardon AVR-635 ($800 out of my budget) 4. Pioneer VSX-1015TX ($450)
Please let me know what would you recommend me to go with for my set-up. I prefer Marantz SR-8400 bcoz of its musical performance, but have put Marantz SR-5500 on the top because of the "Lip Sync" feature it has. Please let me know whether "Lip Sync" needs to be high on my list as I am planning to go with HD in less than 2 years. Plan is to have Marantz SR-5500 hooked upto a Warm Sounding Amplifiers like NAD, ROTEL. Will be upgrading my speakers when I can afford ( may be in 3 yrs )
Please help me with my options with your experiences / opinions.