Sonus Faber HT completed. AVR/DVD needed.

Forget it dude, you're robbing yourself blind going the "receiver route"! yes, the speakers are the main importance in regards to the gear, with the amp/pre/processor second,third,whatever.
Do yourself a favor and look for a good pre/pro/amp combo. You'll get 100% better sound all together in all respects. There are many chioces if you like "warm"

I think that your speakers are well deserving of better ear than a receiver has to offer. If you are willing to buy used, there are many different choices of separates that I think might work better. I originally had NAD 7220pe & Vadersteen 1b's and then switched to B&W cdm1nt's...but the biggest upgrade was stepping up to the entry level high end electronics when I bought the Bryston B60 integrated amp. You have beautiful speakers...I say dump the wad on the good stuff now because you'll appreciate it in the long run. I also hooked up my B60 to my dad's Vandy 2ce sigs for the last 3 months and it sounds much cleaner than the Huge behemoth Denon 5700 it replaced. Now I'm in the market to expand my system because my dad liked it so much I left it with him in Los Angeles.

from what I hear, Sonus Faber are a very warm speaker...much different than my metal domed B&W's...I think that oe combination that I would like to hear would be a Bryston SP1 paired with a 9BST (with 15 or so years of transferrable warranty left) with the Speakers you have. I think that would provide peace of mind and keep the upgrade bug at bay for quite a while. for the front end, it would be hard to suggest something...I think that the advances in difital that have been made in the last years have brought pretty decent sound quality into some of the even lower$ players. I would invest more in the amps than the front end, but that is just the way i would approach building the system...that way you only have to upgrade once more instead of 3 times if you ultimately make your way to a true high end system.

just my 2c..sorry for rambling..what do you think?

Ellery

I have a B&K upgraded 307 and the Arcam DV-89. It's a great combination.