"They were hooked up to a Peachtree Nova. And they were still amazing!" - Tiggerfc
I don't know what a Peachtree Nova costs, but if it sounded amazing then why not give it a try at home? I'd suspect the dealer would let you do a home demo since you already purchased gear from them.
The fact that you say that they were "still amazing" makes me wonder if you have a bias against Peachtree products not being expensive enough or not high end enough. I could easily be reading too much into this, but let your ears be your guide.
As for the Pathos recommendation, I've never heard a Pathos product that I didn't like. I think, based on the price, the most recent one that I heard in the store was the Pathos Logos and it was hooked to Focal 807v speakers and the detail was really impressive.
The other brand that I dream of owning is Krell. Before I made a purchase I'd look at their integrated amp, is it the i-300 or something similar?