Thank you for your sobering responses. I guess it would be best to just put together a separate surround sound from scratch. I'm thinking of the Definitive Technology Mythos series for speakers, with my Vandersteen sub. The Gramophone, a classical music magazine considers them "musical" as far as home theater goes; and then a solid 5.1 amp for around $1500 to $2000. Off to the net!
Preserving high-end L and R while going surround
I want to integrate my good 2-channel amp and speakers into a surround system--plugging the L and R outs of a surround SACD player into it, (as the L/R fronts are the most important channels), and buying a "modest" surround amp to cover my center, sub, and rear needs. A modest (=inexpensive) surround amp should be fine for the rears, as I listen to Classical and the speakers will only add ambience that ideally shouldn't be heard--no need for a lot of power or fancy electronics. But what about the center: in discreet surround will the center material be, er, discreet enough not to reveal differences in amp quality?