Avr 1912 or Rx-v671, your thoughts?

Hello.  I currently have a Sony STR-DG820 a/v receiver and a set of Klipsch Quintet 5.1 speakers, and a Klipsch powered sub (dont remember the model number)  I am thinking of doing some upgrading.

I will have to take it slow and do it one step at a time.  Right now, I have been doing some reading on different a/v receivers.  I know there are alot of brands out there, problem is, here in Corpus, there are few actual stores that deal in home theater equipment.  There are a couple, but they carry limited brands.  Then there are the big box stores, like best buy.  Basically, there really isn't a place where you can go and listen to different set ups.  The brands that seem to be sold around here are Denon, Yamaha, and Pioneer, and Sony. 

In the past, I have had Yamaha and Paradigm setup, and it was good.  I have been looking at the Denon Avr 1912 and the Yamaha Rx-v671.  They both seem to be good receivers.  The problem with the Denon is that it isnt satellite radio ready.  The Yamaha has Sirius satellite radio as well as SiriusXM internet radio.  They both do Rhaposdy and other online music. 

I have also looked at the Pioneer VSX 1021 K, but heard the amp on those are not as strong as others.

The issue is, it seems they are both rated at about 90w/ch.  The current Sony I have is rated at 110w/ch.  However, the Sony is older and I am wondering if dropping down in watts, even though I am getting a newer model would make any difference in the sound?

I don't know how Sony rates the STR-DG820.  I know it is a 7.1 receiver and is rated at 110w/ch, but i'm not sure if that's all channels driven or just 2 ch.  I'm leaning toward the Yamaha, but on their site, they list this receiver as 90w/ch 20Hz-20Khz @ 8 ohms at .08%TH, 2 channels driven.  I would assume that having an amp that can drive 90w/ch all channels driven would be better.  I guess what I am wondering is, do all the receivers now rate their amps at 2 channels driven?  If they do, is this a bad thing?  The way I understand it is, this means that under a load, like during busy action sequences, the amp cant power all 5 or 7 channels as well as an amp that can power all channels.  One store salesman explained to me that the channels driven is really only an issue when you have the amp at max power, and that if you are listening at moderate levels, it will power all channels just fine.

As far as speakers.  I live in a small apartment, so I dont want to get too big.  Rather than going with tower speakers, I think I am going to stick with bookshelf speakers.  I have had Paradigm monitor 9's in the past, and they sounded ok.  I'm wondering how someone would compare the BIC speakers or the Axiom speakers to those.  From what their website says, I can get Axiom, or even SVS bookshelf speakers for the same or less than what I would pay for a set of Paradigm speakers.

Anyway, I appreciate your time, and would like to hear what you guys think of the difference between these receivers, or maybe some other suggestions

Thanks for the reply.  I guess I put too much emphasis on getting top quality out of what I am willing to spend on equipment.  I should know that I am not going to get top of the line on the amount I can spend.  I am looking at around the $500-$600 range for a receiver.  So with that, I shouldn't expect to find receivers to deliver top quality performance I guess.  So, I suppose pretty much any receiver in this price range is probably going to perform about the same.  Sound right?  I guess i'm expecting too much lol.  I want excellent fidelity.  Crisp highs, solid bass, and clear mids.  But I kinda figure if I want all that, I better be ready to spend over $1000 on a receiver.

I think I am leaning toward the yamaha.  Reasons on this, it is satellite radio ready, plus it has pretty much all features that the denon has, and more.  Both are network receivers.  I've heard the GUI on the yamaha is better than the denons.  I THINK they both have 7 discrete power amps, im not sure.  I know the denon does, and I thought I read that yamaha does too.  Of course, the Denon has AudessyEQ and Audessy room calibration, yamaha uses YPAO.

The Denon has Dolby Pro logic IIz, and the yamaha doesnt, however, from my reading, the yamaha doesnt need it because it has its' own proprietary function (i think the Cinema DSP 3D), that does the same thing in allowing 3D height settings, allowing you get the same sound.

I may look in to getting some Axiom speakers.  The M22's look good for the price, however, it seems that the M3's have better sensitivity, at 96db (93 Aneochc) compared to the M22's 93db (89 Aneochic).  I'm wondering how that will affect them.

Anyway, still looking and thanks for the reply.

I was looking at the Denon 1912.  I too have heard good things about Audyssey, the only problem with the 1912, and correct me if i'm wrong, but it is not satellite radio ready, which is a feature I want.

Hey, was just looking over there at accessoriies4less, they have some good deals.  Glad I checked there first.  Looked at the Marantz SR5005, it has everything except network ability.  Looked at the Onkyo TX-NR708 for $499.  110w/ch, 106dB S/N, Ethernet, HD Radio ready, Sirius ready.  Looks to be pretty good.

I noticed something else on their site.  They list an Onkyo TX-NR 807 for $499 also.  This one is 135w/ch and has pretty much everything the 708 does, except for it uses the 1.3 version HDMI, and is not 3D capable.  I tried to find it on Onkyos site and it isnt listed.  Is this a discontinued item?  is the 708 actually a newer model than the 807?  I guess I kinda thought the higher the number, the newer, higher end it was.

Anyway, I may lean toward this Onkyo rather than the Yamaha.  I don't know much about Onkyo though.  How is their performance?  How well do their amps perform?  Are they pretty strong, or are they weak?