Can anyone offer any recommendations for a 7.2 receiver? I had two Sony STR-DN1040 that did not play nice with my Panasonic VT60 **video dropouts via HDMI** If curious, this was the problem

I'm running modest speakers that work very well for the size of the room: Energy Take Classic 5.1 with a future upgrade to 7.1 or 7.2 down the road

I have a $500+ credit at Best Buy, so would prefer a unit they carry but I'm open to buying anywhere reputable. I'm sure I could think of other stuff to buy at Best Buy with the credit.

Features that would be a plus:

• Built-in Wifi or included adapter
• Airplay
• Built-in Bluetooth or included adapter
• HDMI passthru on standby
• 4k passthru/upconversion to futureproof

Thank you for any input you may have.

The Denon X2000 features Audyssey MultEQ XT auto speaker/sub EQ but would be slightly above your budget at Best Buy and although only 7.1, you can add a second sub pre-out with a $5 RCA "Y" splitter cable or adapter. Neither Wifi nor bluetooth is built in. If you're comfortable with Onkyo, the Onkyo 626 would be inside your budget and is 7.2 with built in wifi and bluetooth although offers the lower version of Audyssey MultEQ.

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?seq=1&format=2&p_id=7187&CAWELAID=1329454426&catargetid=320013720000011092&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CKmop6KRjbwCFUdk7AodgGwAAQ

The Yamaha 773 is almost 2 years old so probably long gone at Best Buy.
It comes with the wifi module and does everything you asked for. Works
great with my Panasonic S60 plasma. The Bluetooth module is about $50
extra. Pretty much only Sony comes with Bluetooth. It is a compressed signal
so audio quality suffers with Bluetooth.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882115377

The only thing missing is subwoofer eq. Other than that it compares with
$1000 receivers. The wifi module alone is worth almost $100.

Bluetooth module. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882115467

Just got back from a Magnolia Best Buy with a new Denon AVR-X2000 per jdsmoothie's recommendation. Thank you sir. Got a nice price break too; better than anywhere else I could find on the web by at least $75, but of course I did have to pay tax.

Bummer that I can't connect to the network until I get either a Powerline Network Adapter or wifi Adapter w/ ethernet. Quick question. Which one of these two is the better option?

Thank you

Powerline Adapter is significantly better...

Just my $0.05... 👍😉

For more helpful information on your new X2000, refer to the 2013 Denon Owner's thread, first reviewing posts #3-6 in that thread.

https://www.avsforum.com/t/1465528/the-official-2013-denon-e-series-x-series-avr-model-owners-thread-faq/0_100#post_23134210