for 10% HD movies only ...
I'd go for an Arcam AV9 + P7 Combo - not HDMI HD formats compatible (but does act as a HDMI switch for convenience) - but so what
would completely blow the Yamaha Z7 SQ wise out of the water IMO
The Z7 uses pretty average components at its pricepoint to be fair (but get a demo and hear for youself its your ears that need to be satisfied)
<edit> the AV9 + P7 is now 2500 new, but the AV9 is still only 999
http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/store/southeast/brighton/3637/content.aspx
that plus a decent 2nd hand power amp and you'd be sorted at <1500 total
or just save your money and go 2nd hand .... if SQ is your top priority there are some stonking bargains out there. I bought an old-school Pioneer AX10Ai-S on here for less than 500 - and previoulsy I'd had a Yamaha 3800 and a Pioneer SC-71 - sound quality between these 2 and the old school Pioneer was not even in the same stratosphere - and I'd consider (jn my opinion) the Z7 a hot-rodded 3900 (think modded 3900 with bigger PSU and some more features (like a decent video scaler etc)
with the new amps you're sinking a lot of money into features .. do you need playback of audio via a network ? do you need IPOD compatibility ? do you really need a decent video scaler inside the amp etc etc In my opinion all the current HD amps sub 2K have lost the plot in a way in playing feature one-up manship - and the SQ has lost out.
that said - if you want an amp that can do everything including making a cup of tea and acting as an alarm clock in the morning - then go ahead - just don't expect the SQ to be as good as you could get ...
all depends on what is important to you ...
SQ was important to me .. thats why I sold the 2 HD amps I bought and bought a 2nd hand high-end non-hd AV amplifier instead - was half the price (at least) and sounds a heck of a lot better - even for HD movies
one thing I did learn in this (quite expensive process!!) was that in-store demos - while useful can be quite limited, as its not your living room, its not your speakers etc. So buyer beware - may be worth finding a dealer who is prepared to give you a home-loan first - I mean 1750 is a lot of money