Thyname there are a lot of good recommendations here. I learned something with this thread. I'm going to add the VX-R to my short list. Soundstage gave it a great review but the reviewer noted that he's heard more impactful bass before. Also, there doesn't seem to be much feedback on this piece either on 'gon forums or reviews. It would be great if someone did some comparisons with this unit against similairly priced units, (Hegel H30, Luxman M900u, Pass X-350.8, etc....)