Let me just add that the yamaha a-s501 does not have the capability to use a home theater bypass setting like I am using in my current setup. That type of setting would bypass volume setting on the amplifier that you are using for your front two channels and letting you control the volume from the avr. Its a little hard to grasp, think of it as the 2-channel amplifier only providing the power and letting the avr control how loud the speakers play.
If you wanted to upgrade to a surround sound setup, it would include a greater effort and larger investment to get there from the yamaha. The first unit that I encountered with home theater bypass was peachtree's nova 150, which is beyond what you're looking at currently. With a quick look, the marantz pm8005 has a home theater bypass setting. If you can stretch your budget a little that might be a viable option. The unit claims 70 wps into 8ohms and 100 wpc into 4ohms. I personally think that yamaha's wpc statistics are exaggerated and I would bet that the marantz has more muscle. However I have never heard the marantz, just based on online reviews.
Its challenging to find a balance between features and quality. For the price of the marantz there are other 2-channel amps that I would recommend if you were not interested in a surround setup. Hopefully I haven't made this sound too complicated. It really comes down to your priorities and what you are interested in. If you really don't see yourself expanding to surround until you move, I strongly recommend a 2 channel setup (you can still add a sub for home theater) if you are looking to get the best quality from your LS-50s that your money can afford.
If you wanted to upgrade to a surround sound setup, it would include a greater effort and larger investment to get there from the yamaha. The first unit that I encountered with home theater bypass was peachtree's nova 150, which is beyond what you're looking at currently. With a quick look, the marantz pm8005 has a home theater bypass setting. If you can stretch your budget a little that might be a viable option. The unit claims 70 wps into 8ohms and 100 wpc into 4ohms. I personally think that yamaha's wpc statistics are exaggerated and I would bet that the marantz has more muscle. However I have never heard the marantz, just based on online reviews.
Its challenging to find a balance between features and quality. For the price of the marantz there are other 2-channel amps that I would recommend if you were not interested in a surround setup. Hopefully I haven't made this sound too complicated. It really comes down to your priorities and what you are interested in. If you really don't see yourself expanding to surround until you move, I strongly recommend a 2 channel setup (you can still add a sub for home theater) if you are looking to get the best quality from your LS-50s that your money can afford.