Receiver Upgrade - Denon vs. Rotel

The 333 and 444 from Sony were very good units for what it's worth. Your 444 is probably better than the Denon (better amplifier). If I recall the 444 had pre outs. You could audition several different power amps at home and find the best fit for you. This would be the least expensive route to full blown separates.

Godd luck!

Sorry I got the 1068 and the 1098 mixed up.

I'd go with the 1068 and 1077.

I second Eldarado's suggestion.

"Your Paradigms are pretty efficent so you don't need a lot of power but, having owned the 40's in the past I know the more current you give them the better they sound" (Eldorado)

Wait...so you're advocating not needing a powerful reciever, unless you want "better sound?"
...Well who needs better sound anyway!?!!!

"Separtaes = best

Rotel rec = better

Denon rec = good" (Eldorado)

"I second Eldorado's suggestion" (Miner42)

"If the blind lead the blind, they both go into the ditch!"
(King James Bible).
Er in this case, if the blind lead the blind, they both end up with mediocre audio systems at best...lol

I say:

Separates = REALLY GOOD
Rotel receiver = fair
Denon receiver = equally as fair

Save yourself some money and get the Rotel RSX-1056 and a separate amp like the Rotel 1075 which would allow you to reassign the two front speakers to 7.1 duty or Zone 2. There is little to no difference between the RSP-1068 and the RSX-1056 as a pre pro. They have the exact same processor, DSP, DAC and software. The RSX-1056 may introduce a touch more noise floor since it houses an amp section but I couldn't hear the difference when I auditioned the two side by side at home (when hooked up to external amps). And hey, with the RSX-1056 you get a tuner as well. While the RSX-1056 is cheaper here than the RSP-1068, the opposite is true in Europe & the UK where the 1056 costs approx. $500 more.