Auditioning had a huge affect on my potential budget

Yesterday I went to my local hifi shop to audition some gear as I'm looking to upgrade my home theater from my an inexpensive theater in a box. I had gone in thinking I would spent about $1500 total and have a pretty nice system. The employee working there was super nice and let me audition a ton of speakers and receiver combos... Even some equipment that's well beyond any budget I could hope to put together to help create a full context of gear.

The system I am looking to build is a 2.1 or 3.1... Surround just isn't my cup tea. I also wanted a receiver capable of switching between multi-channel and stereo for video vs music listening. I was shocked by how much the receiver really affected the sound. We started with a Marantz 7.2, then she showed me a Yamaha stereo model, an Anthem 520, and then a tube amp I didn't get the model of as it was five figures. I was blown away by the difference in sound stage between the Marantz, Yamaha, and Anthem... The Anthem was the clear winner the depth it created in Pink Floyd was like nothing I had experienced.