Dear audiophiles:
I am a total “newcomer” in the Home Theatre domain considering buying my first set of separates (pre/pro and power amp) for 7.1 setup and do need a little help. My budget for pre/pro and power amp is only about $3000, unfortunately enough…
Many contributors highly recommended Outlaw 950 pre/pro model over many others. Quite frankly, I have my doubts in this regard: as far as I understand, this device is not able to decode new formats like HDCD, Dolby Headphone, DTS 96/24, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, and it is not possible to upgrade the software this model comes with (?!).
I was very impressed with the sound quality of Anthem AVM-20 / PVA-7 combo with KEF Q7 speakers, but the price is too high for me… A friend of mine (not a seasoned specialist himself, I am afraid) recommended to consider the following units from Adcom GTP-860II preamp/7607 poweramp, Sherwood Newcastle P965 preamp/A965 poweramp or NAD T163 preamp/ T973 poweramp. I think Rotel offers something as well. Outlaw has some power amplifiers too: 770, 7100. Far too many choices… Consequently I am totally and completely lost and do need your help badly indeed!

Respectfully,
John

P.S. Is it advisable to mix components from different manufacturers: Sherwood Newcastle P965 preamp and Outlaw 770 poweramp, for example?

P.-p.S. What are the most important specs to look for? Are the following parameters important?
THD <0.1% at rated power
Frequency response of say 5 Hz-100 kHz
Output impedance: <0.4 ohm
Damping factor: >100
Input impedance: >10 k ohms
IMD should probably be roughly that of the THD.