After cutting it down to a final 3, it's out of the Pioneer VSX-1018, Denon 2309 and the Onkyo TXSR806. All of these range at around £500 which is the most I can afford really. A slight nudge in the right direction would be great.
I am going for the 806. Tried out a Yamaha RX 1900 as there are no 863 to see what the fuss was about, and didn't feel thta amp was worth the extra £300+. So the extra £100 for the 863 and wait is not worth it for me.