Thanks guys, I was hesitant about the ML because I read they're difficult to work on, which I figure would translate to high maintenance costs/difficulty finding a shop. I'm going to ask Bill about that tomorrow to see if he works on them.
I considered going with a Crown, it's obviously much cheaper and meant to work at those ohms. The eagle is also quite reasonably priced too and the seller takes returns, so that's attractive as well.
Any thoughts on pre amps? Is having an expensive (to me) power amp a waste if I don't get an equally capable (read pricey) pre amp? Or can I be less fussy about a pre, so long as the basic voltage gain reqs are there? I don't think the seller is interested in selling his Theta along with the ML. That theta is also huge, probably bigger than the ML!