AV Receiver

Yamaha has powered 2nd zones in their receivers..Also, I believe, if your looking for the newer codecs for blu Ray, Onkyo has a 2nd zone.

the Yamaha's are excellent! Not all have the 2nd zone feature, but you should be able to get a RXV1700 or 1800 within your budget. Good Luck!

I'm partial to Denon and would recommend you check out the 2309CI.
You can get it at 6th Ave Electronics (6ave.com) for $636 and free shipping (maybe no sales tax, depends on your state) with coupon code AFLAUD25 which gives you 25% off.
I just picked up the 2809CI for $900 using this same coupon and its really nice. This will replace a 3802 which I loved but had no HDMI inputs.
6th Avenue is an authorized Denon reseller and is listed as such on Denon's web site so its definitely not "grey market" equipment and I don't have any concerns about the warranty.

FYI - I don't know where this coupon came from originally but someone posted it in an amazon.com review for the 2809 and it still works for some receivers. Should also work on the current model Yamahas, doesn't seem to be good for the old models which are already discounted. Looks like the Yamaha RX-V863BL is coming down to $675 after 25% off.

Good luck with your search!