As I said earlier, the SC-57 is a very good receiver but it's only been on the market for a few months so it's still priced pretty high. IMO, Pioneer receiver (and especially their BluRay players) are a bit over-priced at anything near msrp. Seek a discount. And I'd hate to see you spend more on the receiver then you do on the bookshelves. As I've recommended before, go into BB and and show a strong interest in it and maybe they can work with you on the price. Some e-tailers, like jr.com electronicsexpo.com 6thave.com etc will also let you bargain on the price or offer a serious discount if you call them. A phone sale (with physical receipt implying that you bought it from the store and not on-line) might protect warranty coverage. Apparently they will look the other way to make a sale as Pioneer will not honor the warranty on any Elite receiver bought on-line. If you've moved the budget up that far it would be silly not to look at comparative Denon's, Onkyo's, Yamaha's and H/K's just to be sure you're making the right decision for you. But the SC-27 might just be the best over-all receiver I've had yet. And I've had quite a few.
I have the SC-37 and would love to upgrade to the SC-57 mostly for the Apple intergration. I had the SC-27 as well. They have been fantastic recievers and would highly recommend them.