This months Home Theater mag. has a shoot out between the Anthem AVM-20 and an Anthem power amp whose model # I don't remember, Pioneer VSX-49TX and the Denon 5803. While the conclusion was the pre/pro - amp combo was best overall they had good things to say about both the Pioneer and Denon receivers. For what I know, $2500 is a killer price if it is from an authorized dealer.