Arcam AV8, Krell Showcase or Aragon Stage One

Julian, very helpful response, I appreciate it! I went ahead and bought the Arcam AV8. Do you have any thoughts about a good multi-channel amp to pair with it? I was looking at ATI amps, and it seems like the price/performance ratio is quite high. Your suggestions would be welcome.

I have to disagree with Sedona_sky_sound. I have owned ARCAM NAD ROTEL ANTHEM and ARAGON processors. In terms of sound quality there is not doubt in my mind that the Aragon stage one is superior to most of the competition especially for two channel playback. Its definitely a reference component in every way and after spending months with seven processors I have come to the conclusion that the stage one given the heavily discounted prices is the way to go.

I've never had the Arcam or Krell in my system. I have owned many prepros including Lexicon, Citation, Parasound, Outlaw, Sherwood and a couple of tube/solid-state preamps. Among the prepros, the Aragon Soundstage (~1100 used) and Aragon Stage One (~2k used) are the best performers for movies and 2 channel music (besting some 2 channel preamps), as they are both based on Aragon's top of the line Aurum preamp. At the current discounted pricing, these two prepros are great buys!

You REALLY should check out the EAD Theatermaster 8800pro. Sonics are amazing.