Amp recommendations sought

I am looking for the same, i.e., an amp to connect to my receiver pre-outs. Interested to see some more recommendations!

Even though I hate this overused phrase, the Marantz MA-700 monoblocks are "giant killers".

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1327758530&/Marantz-MA-700-Monoblock-pair

B&K monoblocks, though hard to find on the used market, are a steal when they come up for sale. Look for the B&K Reference 200.1, EX4420M, Reference 4420M, or the Reference 220M. These babies will drive just about any speaker you throw at them.

Bill

If you don't mind tubes you should definitely consider a JWN cutom built amp. The only downside is the 2-3 month wait

Jon,

Do you plan to use the multi-channel HT capabilities of the receiver in the future? Just curious why you bought a mass-market HT receiver when it appears that your primary concern is 2-channel audio sound quality (based on you DACs and speakers).

If you intend to stick with 2-channel for music and video, you might want to consider a high quality integrated amp instead of using the HT receiver. It would greatly simplify your rig and it would probably sound better than the HT receiver with external power amp. You could also use it in the future to drive the L&R front speakers in a combination HT setup using the receiver as the HT processor and power for the center and rears speakers.

Just my $.02 worth, but I wouldn't use a mass-market HT receiver as my pre-amp if I were just going to buy an external power amp anyway.

Good Luck in your quest....

TIC

Mostly for the convenience of hdmi switching for multiple devices -- ps3, apple tv, Xbox. I couldn't figure out a way to pump sound from all those plus the transporter into an integrated. Maybe I just missed something in thinking about it though. I'd consider a good 2 channel integrated, since it'll be a while before I can get surround set up due to living room config.