HT amp for my father - advice please

The speakers are only rated at 86 dB so I would anticipate power being a bit more important than with a lot of speakers.

It sounds like you need a receiver that has two or three powered zones and I would recommend getting one that has pre-outs for each channel allowing a dedicated 2 channel amplifier to be added in the future. I have an Integra and have had Onkyo in the past. I think they are very user friendly units.

Something like the Onkyo TX-NR708 would be a great starting point, but is a bit above the stated budget. It has two powered zones and 7.2 channel pre-outs. The 608 is less expensive, but you give up the pre-outs and I would anticipate that the amplifier isn't nearly as good.

There are a lot of good options, but here's a place to start looking. The 707 is the previous version of the 708 and is available on Amazon for much closer to your budget.

i have a yamaha rx-v1 that i'm selling. it's an integrated amp/preprocessor, 7.1 setup (2 enhanced front speakers), 2 zones, was there top of the line a few years ago. i actually used it with a pair of totem mani 2's which are 85db.

I have exactly the same speakers and use a B&K 507. It's 150W x 7, but honestly, I don't seem to ever have to turn them up very much.

Outlaw audio, or ATI........both great for the money.

Dave

Personally, I've had better results keeping ht and whole house separate. For ht that is simple would be an arcam solo. Whole house find a used denon multi zone for 150 for a 3 zone receiver.