Matt
Anytime someone asks about amps, the no amp crowd flock to the thread like fly's to s**t. I can highly recommend the Emotiva amps , they are very good for the price and you wont hate yourself for buying them. For me whether they sound different or better was not a factor I considered when buying an amp. A separate amp allows me a different upgrade path and it also removes unnescessary heat from the Processor portion of the receiver. I hope to add a dedicated prepro at some point. This hobby is super addictive and upgraditis gets most of us. I suspect in light of the fact you are considering an amp that at some point you will end up buying one, since once its on your mind you wont stop until you have one
That article I linked to can help with some good common sense explanations about why the no amp camp may not be as right as they think they are. I gave up arguing with those people long ago. Funny thing is some of them that argue against actually own external amplification, go figure
Richard
