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I disagree that there is no audible difference between a $400 receiver and a decent pre-pro/amp combination... unless you're doing a double-blind usign Bose cube speakers.

You keep suggesting that amp manufacturer is akin to speaker manufacturer. The big difference is... any good amp (by good, I mean suitable for HT use) these days has the specs to be in the inaudible range in distortion and SNR as long as they're not being overdriven. Technology is a wonderful thing. We're long past the 70s where S/S amplifier tech was still new, and past the 80s where big power amps were needed to drive passive subwoofers.

You'll only notice the difference blind if one's being driven into distortion. So yes, amps can sound different... trying to play the same source material through a 10WPC and a 200WPC amp can sound different... if you're driving a difficult load at high volumes. The lesser powered amp will be pushed into clipping before the greater powered amp will.

Bren R.