My feeling is if your ant to deliver close to as good a sound you currentl have, you are going to want to get a 5 channel Brystons or Krell power amp which will put you in the $8000 to $8500 range and you will need a processor. You can spend more, but it is crazy too because pre/pros go obsolete very quickly. I would get a Marantz AV8801 for $3000. Then, you will need to look at speakers unless you have them already. Given your affinity for Maggie's, you could consider their home theatre speaker. I don't know how much they are. Otherwise I would look at the Monitor Audio Gold Line or the Sunfire Cinema Ribbon line. Assume $6K to $9k depending on exactly which mix of speakers you choose along with a subwoofer. Thus, for $16 to $20k you would have an elite 5.1 system. If that is above your budget, it is a matter of compromise. For instance, you could consider a Sunfire power amp instead of a Brystons or Krell. They will be $2500 to $4k depending on power rating. You could get an AV 7701 instead of an 8801 for $1000 instead of $3000 but on both cases, your quality drops a hair.

What kind of budget are you looking at? At any given price point, there are options. It's just a matter of piecing together the best options at any given level.

I spent $3200 for my pre/pro and power amp and $3700 for a 7.1 speakers for my home theatre. Not radically different what your spending. In fact, your two channel system is nicer than mine. We are here because we love this hobby, not because we have tons of money to spend.

If I were you, I would look at the Marantz AV7701 - you should be able to find it between $1000 and $1200. This is a superb unit. I have its predecessor - the AV7005 and it is awesome. I can't say enough good things about it.

A Bryston or Krell power amp is going to run you an awful lot used. Additionally, the Maggies you have in your other system are a decidedly warm speaker. Bryston and Krell along with PSB are very neutral. I find Integra, and really all Onkyo products a touch bright which is probably why you are unhappy with your current set up.

I would look seriously at a Sunfire TGA-7201 - particularly if those PSBs are bi-ampable. The front outputs of the Sunfire have a "voltage" and "current" based output. The voltage output will sound like any solid state power amp. The "current" output will sound more like a tube output and can deliver some warmth. You would attach the voltage output to the bass of your speakers and the current output to the mids and highs. This is particularly cool for 2 channel audio. The Sunifire is $2499 new. The Sunfire lacks the absolute clarity you will get from Bryston or Krell but it is very good and when you consider it is less than 1/3 the price....

The one alternative would be to look at an NAD or even a Marantz receiver. Both are music first where I feel that Onkyo/Integra is video first.

The NAD T 777 is a great sounding receiver that is music first at $2999. It has the same version of Audyssey that the Marantz AV 7701 has and plenty of power. Two strikes against NAD; it lacks a lot of the features that you get with Marantz like streaming Audio and nice network functionality that allows you to rename and customize inputs and the second issue is that video processing is basically an afterthought.

A Marantz SR7009 which is $1999 has the latest, greatest version of Audyssey which is important if you have bad speaker placement. If you aren't familiar, Audyssey is a dynamic equalizer that helps smooth and balance sound processed in 5.1 or 7.1. IMO, the single most important innovation in multi-channel audio. The SR7009 is basically a Marantz pre/pro with a 125w amplifier built in. Although Marantz doesn't have the video capabilities of the Integra, it is far superior to the NAD.

I think both are excellent but you will get superior performance that will be closer to you two channel system with a pre/pro and separate power amp. As I said above, I have a Marantz pre/pro and incidentally have a Marantz power amp. My Marantz power amp sounds very good for the money, but I prefer the Sunfire if your budget can support it. I am thinking seriously about upgrading to the Sunfire.

ssimon:

Is your limit absolute?

Reason I ask is unless you have a very high budget for such things as a multi-channel Krell and the like, why not just allow 5 inches or so of vertical rack space and get a Denon X4000 series (which has Audessey 32) or similar AVR, which can then be easily integrated with your existing two-channel setup; saving a serious amount of money.

Curiously,

Ron

My suggestion would be to get the Cambridge Audio 651R receiver.

IMO it is the best available, by a wide wide margin.

So, I just made a couple changes to my system and have recently added an Ayre preamp and Rogue power amp to my two channel system.

When I was doing my evaluation of equipment, I swapped my Rogue Power Amp into my home theater for the front two channels. I found that the sound was thin with the Marantz pre/pro. This weekend I dropped the Ayre preamp in via the home theater pass through to see its impact as I am considering adding a good two channel preamp into that system. It made the Marantz power amp sound dramatically better. Not in the same league as the Rogue, but fat better than I would have expected.

My question is, does your McIntosh have a home theater pass through? If it does, using it could dramatically raise the level of the sound in your two channel system even with a modest power amp.