I'm a firm believer in spending the lion's share of the loot on the speakers, then a good pre-amp/processor, then an amp. At the very end of the chain, I worry about the source components (at least for CD/DVD) and then I purchase based on features.

I've heard the M200 and I can hear quite a difference between that and my 755. I'm certainly not old (pushing 40...Oh God, I said it!), but I'd give your ears a bit more credit. 8-)

Cheers,