First of all, I am not an audiophile like most of the people who post in this forum. I have very little knowledge on the subject. With that said, I asked for advice from a tech at axiomaudio.com for stereo system powerful enough so that I could listen to music and play my drums to. At the same time, I wanted a system that would "blow me away" when just listening to music. The system that was recommended is as follows:

A Pair of Axiom M80s V2
Model 970 Preamp/Processor
(2)Model 2200 M-Block Amplifier

Based on the reviews and recommendations I have read online I feel like I received good advice and am almost ready to purchase the system.

However, after reading all the problems people are reporting in this forum in regards to the Model 970 Preamp/Processor,I am now having second thoughts on purchasing this unit. I went by a local audio dealer yesterday and they recommended the follwing preamp and amplifier:

Anthem TLP 1
Anthem PVA 2

So, I am looking for advice from members of this forum in regards to whether or not I should go ahead and purchase the model 970 or look for something else. And any recommendations on what that something else sould be would be appreciated.

Thanks.