Sean - you have expounded on what I was thinking but did not take the time to "pen". When it comes to HT vs 2 channel I think there are more opportunities to use the "budget lines" for HT where many of the suttle nuances of the music is lost to the fact that the center channel has most of the info and the fact that HT sound is usually played at a level to assimilate realistically live reproductions such as explosions, etc. I am in agreement that an Acurus amp will be a great amp for this application - powerfull and brings good control when playing dynamic signals. I still think that the Brystons, Classe would do a nicer job on 2 channel applications. Thanks for not jumping on my back....
