papajim-
i would stay away from the 'mainstream, cookie cutter' type amps and receivers. they are just of a poor quality and wont last or have the functions/ability that a higher end receiver can give you. i would stay away from your basic kenwood, pioneer, sony units. NOW, with that said, sony and pioneer do have a higher grade series of equip that is as good as the other stuff that we have suggested.. the pioneer elite series is good, and the sony ES series is good also.. but those are their much higer priced units than the one you were looking at.
good brands you need to probably go with are.. denon, onkyo, harmon kardon(HK), yamaha and for amps nad, outlaw, and rotel. you wont find a better band for buck value than with those names.
bigjohn
