I've had some decent 2 channel stuff in the past; Some better Sony, David Hafler, Carver, DynaCo(ST70), etc., nothing too exotic though. I went with the 1050 to get my feet wet in multi-channel, I was too busy for a while to stay up to speed, plus there's nothing like first hand experience. As for speakers, I've used Bose, Infinity, Klipsch, Advent, JBL, maybe a few more, but I always ended up with DIY projects. I just love to build things, maybe why I like writing software so much.

Nice you could ease back a bit, do what you want. And don't worry about the bikes - my Dad loves Harleys too, and I still talk to him without fighting

In the end it's what makes you happy not the highest tech, fastest, leakiest or whatever.