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The sound (to my old ears) is as good as some of the separates I have run in the past.

While the Yamaha AX1 is better than some of the separates in the past, I would expect some of the current crop of separates (like the 950 with it's matching lower-powered amp) to sound better (even to my old ears).
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I still think if you want to buy a receiver, buy a 1050 and spend the savings on high compliance speakers.

If you are going to get a receiver rather than separates, and don't want to spend more than the 1050 costs, I'd recommend considering a receiver in the 1050's price range, with DPL2 and/or NEO6. To me, DPL2 and NEO6 are very much superior to the (typically unlistenable) sound effects used before DPL2 and NEO6 came on the scene.