Well, fellow desperados and gunslingers, I can honestly say that I've run out of road. My system sounds fantastic with these new Audience Maestro ICs, but the truth is that it already sounded fantastic with the considerably cheaper Outlaw PCAs they replaced, and the differences I hear (admittedly more noticeable with my mono/center Totem speaker configuration than with my NHT mains) are so subtle that I wouldn't call them life-altering.

Simply put, this is me saying I'm done, finished, kaput, whatever with experimenting. Wouldn't call these Audience ICs "snake oil," but now I'm pretty certain that you can build a fine budget system (my initial goal) without breaking the bank. (Of course, the wife thinks I already broke the bank, but bless her heart for putting up with it.) Thanx to everyone in the forum for the insights and suggestions—even those I might not have heeded. Now, back to the music…