So I decided to take a chance and picked up a vintage Carver M1.0t magnetic-field amp (circa 1987) to drive the M60's. Now the AVR can run in the much better sounding "Direct" stereo mode which is pure analog except for A to D and D to A conversion where required. I dug out my old Outlaw ICBM analog crossover (from the analog-only SACD/DVD Audio days circa 2001) to maintain the proper 80Hz crossover.
I like how something in the 80's is now "vintage" and 2001 is now a long past memory of the "prehistoric period of analog"... hehehe...
I have always been a firm believer in power amps... The amps i have are 250W @8ohm, and 500W@4 ohms... Power isn't was kills speakers, it's distortion.. with a quality amp, you can drive speakers well beyond what you would be able to do with a receiver...
How much does your new amp weigh compared to your Denon? That is for only 2 channels of amplification, not 5-7 as well as all of the other ancillary circuitry in the box for video and audio processing!
BTW, my amps are circa 1997.... I am going to guess the carver is a class A amp also?
