Hi John1972,
Despite Sony's excellent TV and video displays over the years, I've always found Sony's audio gear and AV receiver electronics (CD players excepted) to have glitches or annoying performance lapses. I say this as a former editor and equipment reviewer for audio and AV magazines both in Canada and the USA. Based on that experience there are certain brands of stereo and AV receivers that are generally very good or excellent. These include: Denon, Harman-Kardon, Yamaha, Sherwood Newcastle (Axiom sells the Newcastles on-line) and NAD.
At Axiom, we've found that some of these also seem to have more robust amplifier sections that are able to drive even our 4-ohm M80 tower speakers without overheating, shutting down or current-limiting. Those brands include Denon, H/K, Sherwood Newcastle, and NAD plus some more costly brands like Rotel and B&K. In times past, I would have included Onkyo, but in recent years some of their models have been problematic driving 4-ohm loads. For higher impedances of 6 to 8 ohms, Onkyo, Yamaha and Pioneer are fine.
Regards,
