I would personally go for one of the new Pioneer Elites such as the Pioneer VSX 21 or 23 or even the Pioneer vsx 9040.
Why? you ask, it simple, I also have the Denon 3805 receiver and when I purchased it in 2006, I auditioned it side by side with serveral older Pioneer Elites that were also new at that time, and found them to be equal in sound quality.
The only reason I bought the denon was because I found a deal $450 off retail at that time.
What I`m saying is, if the Pioneer Elites could match the sound quality of the Denon in 2006 ( both pioneer and Denon were using Burr-Brown DACs), and today Elites still use high quality Burr-Brown DACs and even higher quality Wolfson DACs .....add to that the new DTS-MA and Truehd HD audio formats for futher improved sound quality.....it`s a no brainer!
Another thing I`ve noticed is that the Pioneers 21 and 23txh weight almost the exact same as the flasgship Denon 3805`s 37lbs 8oz.
With the pioneer vsx23 txh weighing the exact same same as the Denon and the 21 being 1lbs lighter, signifies that if their isn`t a brick duct-taped to the inner wall, we can assume a good power supply was also used.
We don`t even need to mention 5 48 bit color HDMI inputs which upscale to 1080p using the same video processor used on the highly acclaimed Oppo 83!!!
Also Avs memebers are supposed to be able to get a deal on these receivers from a guy named Ramon.
I`m personally turned off by Denon`s lighter weight receivers in 2009. as far up as the 2310 weighing only 28.6 lbs and costing $1499.00
I can`t help but think that skimping on quality has been done! I mean if you think about it, these new audio formats sound so good (DTS-MA and TureHD) some manufactures could skimp on quality parts and let these sound fields provide you with better sound thses our high end dd and dts receivers, and we might not ever realized they skimpped of quality yet are charging as if were getting a better quality receiver!
How does my 3805 weigh a wopping 10lbs more than a new 3310ic receiver?
Because quality has been replaced by features. Pioneer seems to giving both so i`m jumping ship.