Mad, I only have a moment but want to throw one thing out there:

Buy your speakers for long-term; they're likely going to be amazing you 20 years from now.

Electronics, on the other hand, are changing constantly. I, too, got into this at a young age.... though I',m pushing 50 to your 30. But receivers USED to be something that you could hold onto for 10-15 years. Now, the standards and codecs are changing much more quickly.

I see your point about wanting to buy equipment that will work in a future theater of a purchased home, but I think you MAY wish to consider buying a minimum receiver with the features you want (yes, make sure it has pre-outs) because there's a good possibility that if you buy a house, build a theater and then want to equip it perfectly, there will be a "better" receiver or pre-pro that you might want at that time.

I have to admit, being a bit old-school, that I find it disheartening that I want to replace my $1200 receiver that I just bought a few years ago! (not enough HDMIs, no 3-D, etc.).

The good news is that the Rotel amp should add capability to whatever receiver you buy now.....or ten years from now.

::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::