125 watt or 80 watt?

well i was planning to upgrade to hd audio using a pioneer vsx 819 as a pre amp. I wanted to do this so i can get all the new hd audio while having a seperate amp to power everything. I have a snell hcc-500 for a center and little sony bookshelfs for the rears. I read up on the carver and it seems to be a good buy for the price, 350$ for 5 channel amp. I am really doing this so i can get the hd audio and still have a great power source in the carver since the pioneer is not really that good for sound, just hd audio. Any other adnice would be awesome. Thanks for the replies.

Remember i am trying to keep this whole "upgrade" below a reasonable price. 350-400 is about all i can spend on an amp, and i would like it to be a 3-5 channel one at that. I am into the home theatre aspect of this and music dts dvds also. Please, any input that anyone has is awesome.

You would be better off with a good used Onkyo 805:

http://electronics.shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38.l1313&_nkw=onkyo+805&_sacat=293

I don't think wattage differences here should be an issue either way. Other factorss seem much more important. Like features.

Dlcockrum,
You think i would be better off not even getting an amp/pre amp set up? I can get the pioneer for 280 shipped and the carver for 350 bringing my total to 620? This would be a better option than amp/preamp? keep the opinoins rolling!!