I used to own some N804s for a little while. I felt they were too bright with Krells and found McIntosh to be majestic and beautiful with them. Mc is excellent at controlling brightness. The MC6500 has effortless liquidity and warmth with a remarkable amount of power when needed. A buddy has a Musical Fidelity A3 setup (on CDM9)that is very nice but I like my McIntoshes better (on Paradigm Ref. 100.2). They have more soul than the MF, more body and strength without any loss of detail. Anyway, I just find McIntosh to be one of the best in their price category. Not to mention the Mcs look stunning. If you like the Mc sound, you won't find a SS substitute IMO.