I second the Onkyo 601. At first, I was really interested in the Panasonic digital amps as well, but numerous sources told me to stay away from those until the technology's been around for a few more years. Not totally sure why, just that they don't play as loud and as cleanly, and you get some strange "artifacts" in the sound sometimes. Anyway, I got my 601 in December for $349 from ecost.com, and it's killing me that it's now a $100 cheaper!!! Apparently, these units have been selling like hotcakes. It's a good sturdy unit with all the standard features but without a lot of bells and whistles. In other words, Onkyo put their money where it matters most. As far as the signal goes, from what I've heard, it's not as bright as Yammies, but a little brighter than H/K.
My one complaint is that the remote seems to have been designed by a third-grader. Still, for $250, it's a steal. -JT
