Denon 6500 - Am I crazy?

When you think of this receiver this way, it makes sense.

Tuner
preamp
amplifier (times X 11 channels)
processor

All this is crammed into a box that weighs 30 lbs. So think about that for a minute. In our world where preamps alone can weigh that, how does the physics even make sense?

I am in the camp that says no receiver can ever match the audio quality of a good two channel amp and preamp, or a good quality integrated amp.

Oz

Hello, 
One more thing tubes wear out over time and can get expensive. If you buy an amp for home theater do not use tubes unless you have the money to upkeep them. Also I love Emotiva products except for the amps unless you are using them for HT only. Otherwise pick another brand of amp. They are too sterile for music even there best versions. A lot of people do not realize that the better your HT setup sounds playing music the better it does playing music due to a lot of talking and music in movies which makes the movie more engaging and real. Also a movie is over two hours and you do not want to get listening fatigue watching a movie. 

ozzy62

good points, if trying to use the AVR for serious 2 channel music it will be adequate power for efficient speakers, but nothing special for sound quality.

for video, these ’kind of lightweight’ multi-channel amps can do a decent job for 5,7,9,11 channels, by their ability to send power only instantaneously here, there, not needing to send power everywhere simultaneously, so this 11.1 AVR may be good at that.

I want to add, look at the speakers first, i.e. speakers that are good for video, i.e. my DBX, successfully creating a wide center image, are not the best choice for 2 channel music. I toe my music mains in for ’just wide enough’ for 2 people, not wider than that, and dead center is still best.

sooo, pick your video main speakers based on wide enough center, high enough efficiency and lack of bass distortion because they are often too close to rear wall and also often too close to a corner. If 1 is close to a corner, another not, it is again the bass that will be the ’problem’.

Avoiding too much bass in corners is why I don’t like ports, and why so many video systems rely on subs, to get the low bass that has been avoided up front. Just not too much from the sub, and for 2 channel with video, not too little from the front, a tango.

Elliot mentioned about about the center channel. Maybe set you receiver to not have a center and let the front two speakers be the phantom center. You will be amazed how good the front end sounds especially when you get a good amp for your two channel setup. Also Bose is great for the center speaker due to it is all midrange. People sell those little cubes individually pretty cheep  On EBay so you can give it a try and keep
it hidden like he said. Let the receiver balance out the front for you with the built in room correction. 

Thanks for so many great comments.  

One question I had was, @hshifi said

For music side do two sealed subs. 

I might be dense, but if doing 2-channel stereo this wouldn't be available.  I assume he meant if using a AVR with 5.2 or 7.2?

So, I think I'm leaning toward the Rega Planar 6 and Elicit-R.  I can then grow my HT around that if I want.  Now I just got to figure out two Floorstanding units that are impressive but won't break the bank (i.e. < $2k)