I recently upgraded from my Rotel RB-1092 and RC-1082. I spent 8 months auditioning various makes, and as mentioned above, Rotel is a good bang for the buck component. I listened to Krell, Bryston, Classe, W4S, Edge, Bel Canto and finally settled on McIntosh (C2200 pre and MC252amp). I had to spend substantially more than my inital Rotel costs to improve on the sonics. My Rotel eqipment retailed for $3800 and the McIntosh retailed for $9900. I bought the preamp used so my real out-of pocket after deducting what I got for my Rotel equipment was $5300. My point is it will be hard to upgrade for $1000.
