I have HD & plasma - recommendations on AVR

If you need the power, you might consider getting a pre/pro with a hefty external amp. There are decent 200w x 5 amps out there.

Kal

I'd consider an Arcam AVR-300. If you don't need the 6th and 7th channels, they can be bridged to bi-amp the front channels, giving 200 watts to the fronts and 100 to the other three. This is how I've arranged my system.

The AVR-300 gores about $1800-1990 new and a few hundred less used, so this would leave room in your budget for speaker cable retermination, if needed.

Such an arrangement might be WAF/space friendly, which is why I chose it over a two-box separates solution.

Just a thought...

I forgot to mention that I'm also looking at the AVM 30.

Thedautch - I've heard the Arcam's are more geared for music in comparison to video. Has this been your experience or does it handle both well.

Dawg, are you going to be running sources into the AVR-300 (if that's what you wound up getting?) I ask because many newer plasmas have plenty of inputs for video (HDMI, component, S-video, composite, etc.) and you don't always have to run video sources through your receiver.

It's almost always better to run those sources through your television, if possible, to skip the unneeded stage of having a receiver process those signals. The one exception I've found is that running my VCR through the Arcam enhances the picture significantly (by upgrading it from composite video to near-component video).

Apologies if I've run off on the wrong track here...just trying to gauge all the relevant issues.