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I recently purchased an Onkyo TX-8222, 2-channel receiver (50W/channel) for audio in my garage. It's important enough to me that I want decent, but affordable sound out there. I'm not really blown away by the 8222. It sounds "ok" with my Sansui SP-X2U bookshelf speakers (for a comparison, I tested them with my Yamaha RX-V661, and they sounded better with that), but I think they could sound better in my garage with a slightly more powerful high-current amp than the 8222. I've been thinking about upgrading to the Onkyo TX-8522, but recently realized that there are several lower end multi-channel receivers that are priced in the same range as the 100W/channel 8522.
Would it be stupid to buy a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver strictly for 2-channel use?
One "advantage" (if it real is an advantage) is that these offer digital inputs which I would use for Squeezebox, while many 2-channel receivers don't seem to offer anything but analog. I'm not sure, but my guess is that there's no great benefit in a straight 2-channel setup to input a digital signal, since additional processing usually isn't done.
How about the Onkyo TX-SR506 (7 x 75W) or the Yamaha RX-V463 (5 x 105W)??? Would I be happy with these as 2-channel receivers, or is it blasphemous to buy a receiver with channels that may never be used?
Would it be stupid to buy a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver strictly for 2-channel use?

One "advantage" (if it real is an advantage) is that these offer digital inputs which I would use for Squeezebox, while many 2-channel receivers don't seem to offer anything but analog. I'm not sure, but my guess is that there's no great benefit in a straight 2-channel setup to input a digital signal, since additional processing usually isn't done.
How about the Onkyo TX-SR506 (7 x 75W) or the Yamaha RX-V463 (5 x 105W)??? Would I be happy with these as 2-channel receivers, or is it blasphemous to buy a receiver with channels that may never be used?