I have a pair of Boston AR1 floor speakers for my living room-14'x24'. I was using a Denon DRA-395 receiver to play CDs on them until the Denon died last week. The receiver was ok, but it did tend to fatigue me and even hurt my ears at moderately high volumes, say, between 10 and 11 o'clock on the dial. I have about $500 to spend on the Denon's replacement. I don't get any classical stations where I live, so a tuner is not critical to me. I was thinking about buying a Yamaha RX797 receiver, but an integrated amp or pre amp and amp combo would no doubt be better. Any thing out there that can play symphonies with lots of guts and not hurt my ears or my wallet?
I have a pair of Boston AR1 floor speakers for my living room-14'x24'. I was using a Denon DRA-395 receiver to play CDs on them until the Denon died last week. The receiver was ok, but it did tend to fatigue me and even hurt my ears at moderately high volumes, say, between 10 and 11 o'clock on the dial. I have about $500 to spend on the Denon's replacement. I don't get any classical stations where I live, so a tuner is not critical to me. I was thinking about buying a Yamaha RX797 receiver, but an integrated amp or pre amp and amp combo would no doubt be better. Any thing out there that can play symphonies with lots of guts and not hurt my ears or my wallet?