Mcintosh,Meridian,Anthem,Classe surround sound

Should add the Arcam AV-9 to your list. Recieved wonderful reviews, and owning one, I agree.

I've owned a Meridian 565 for about seven years and it's just about the only piece of gear that I don't ever contemplate replacing. As the center of a dual purpose system, you'd likely need/want to have a 562 linked in to handle a variety of source components so if you go this route, do some homework. In the interest of full disclosure, my 565 is in a full Meridian digital system dedicated to home theater, as I'm fortunate to have a separate all analog two-channel rig (and room).

That said, I believe I'd be perfectly happy with Meridian on double duty and have used my setup for some occasional, extended music listening sessions. On the "downside" the 565 setup requires a commitment, but once dialed in. . .well, read the first line of my post again. With your budget, you can consider the newer Meridian gear, which uses a PC based setup utility that makes this job much easier!

I have owned A bunch of McIntosh C39,MX130,MX132,MX134 and now the MX135 and if you want good two channel and surround in one I would say the MX134 or 135 are good choices. I see them here on AudioGon for that 4500-5000 price range. The 135 of course is newer so it has more features but the 134 is excellant as well.