New home theater setup

Zydo, respectfully, an intriguing statement. Could you simply tell us which AVR it is?

Av and Zy, when you consider the subjectivity and component synergy that confronts people in this hobby, let alone what the OP is considering, then to a large degree you're guys are both correct. You are also both making a few generalities that seems to be the reason for your disagreement. In any event you're both providing information to the OP.

I auditioned an earlier version of the Arcam and it did sound better than the other receivers I was considering but its feature set was stunningly lacking. It was also a model that I later learned had some reliability issues. I've become quite content with a receiver running my HT only system. Compared to the fidelity of my two channel system it's a joke as are most HT systems. Even so, the room correction, modern codecs, and a massive sub, make my HT very entertaining.

Just how Arcam compares to separate multi-channel power amplifiers is, again, subjective at best. Depending on speaker selection I would agree its almost a given that adding an outboard amp will be an improvement over a receiver. At the same time I've heard some real crapy multi channel amps.