danvu, thanks for the reply and info. I listen to music and ht equally. What amp would you recommend? I'm also looking at the Mcintosh MC8207. What do you think?
In short, you can't go wrong with McIntosh amps. They are powerful, clean, detailed, yet sweet sounding amps for solid state. The guys at Magnolia referred to ML speakers and MCIntosh amps as a match made in heaven. However, they are expensive and you can get the same sound quality or even better for less money with other brands but it requires lots of research and trial and error to get the right match.
Another suggestion is, instead of getting a 5/7 channel amp to drive the whole system, you should get a good stereo amps or monoblocks to drive your L/R (maybe center too), investing in the main fronts first . That would bring your music experience (even movie watching) up a notch. Later on, when you have more budget, get a cheaper, smaller 3/5 channel amp to drive the rest.
Other brands for solid state amps I recommend you look into, beside the Emotiva XPA1L, are Pass Labs, Classe, First Watt, ModWright, Sanders, Monarchy Audio. I think you can find some reviews for some of these brands' models right here in the recommended amps section. But like Gordon said, try to audition them in your system from local dealers that let you loan/return or online retails with good return policies. Sometime, people that sell their used units online (agon, ac) in your local area are willing to bring them to your home to let you try in your system too.
