AV Receiver Help me narrow it down

Butrflynlambie,No Receiver has preamp outs,that I know of. Look at Audioadvisor.com. They sell a few AV receivers in your price range and they are very helpful with any questions you have. Marantz,NAD,Cambridge,NuForce AVP-18. This NuForce is a digital preamp/processor 7.1 channel, this unit might be just the ticket. good hunting.

Matt

Mattmiller, most av receivers have preamp outs.

Butr...
The pass through is not equal on all units. Some are finicky, most only pass through the last hdmi selected. Some only pass through video. Denon along with a few more sell optional ipdod docks.

If it's in the closet, make sure it has an IR input so you can run a remote eye. Keep in mind that some receivers handle 7 channels better than others. Marantz cannot handle 5 or 7 channels below 8 ohms if I'm correct. I think Yamaha had a lower limit of 6 ohms on multi?

Finally, more than 7 channels? That's a lot of speakers.

I'd look at either the emotiva umc-200 or outlaw. Both are about $600 and would leave a ton of room for a nice used amp. Now you are in separates, better quality, with everything you ever wanted.

If your in the closet (no pun), then you likely have no ventilation if the doors are closed. And, if movies only, that sounds like a perfect candidate for a DIGITAL AV RECEIVER! That equals low heat, and likely no fan or issues. Again, since it's movies only, any pickiness on ultimate sound quality preferences would be more of a moot point, as long as it's clear sounding and offers good enough dynamics and power for the speakers you're driving.
The Panasonic SA-XR55 and JVC RX-D20 are Class D digital Amplifier units, and will do what you need, likely.
If you go the tradiational Class A/B type power amp route, you can also go with very efficient horn loaded Klipsch loudspeakers, and that will draw much less current from your AV reveiver, making it run cooler than standard 86-88db loud speaker designs. It's a thought.
What gear are you using besides the receiver?

closet is more like basement. I would eventually like to load all of my blu-rays on a media server device and be able to send it to my bedroom and living room... depending.. without having the electronics accessible to the kids.

All speakers are 8ohm speakers, bookshelf size fronts, sub, center, two surround and a back. I also have two additional bookshelf speakers I could use for an additional front, all matched. The bookshelves are 200watt the surrounds at 120watt.

Butrfly, one other thing that would come into play is the size of your theater room. But being that you have bookshelves that are 8 ohms, you should be in good shape unless they are unusually low efficiency, like 85db.

Wanting pre outs(you'd need 7.1) for an amp down the road limits your choices to more expensive options as various brands do not include them except in their higher end models. And since you want to place it in a closet, models that might run hotter should be avoided. Onkyos used to run hot and might still plus they have a spotty record for reliability, so that leaves Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, Pioneer, etc.

I know Onkyos best as I've had 2 and still own a TOTL 5 yr old. Wanting to get the latest features, I'm looking to upgrade too, and I'm looking at Denon. They seem to have more refinement in the implementation of functions, from what I've read, and have better customer service and reliability. I don't know the other brands too well, except Marantz is priced significantly higher for the same feature level.

If you don't need the latest greatest you could opt for a discontinued Denon and save a few hundred. The Denon AVR-3313CI is a pretty good option, loaded with technology and good performance all around. You should be able to get it for 850 online. I want the TOTL Audyssey room correction and Low Frequency Containment, so I'm waiting to get another Denon, the AVR-X4000, which has both but it's much more money.

Good luck with your hunt.