Amp evolution ques. - what comes after a Harmon K?

Alternatively, the AVR 20 has pre-amp outputs so i believe i can hook an amp directly to the existing unit... or is this not worth it?

There is quite a bit of enjoyment tobe had from the mid-fi amps you listed. They are all big names in mid-fi with good reviews from the pros - you can google for them.

Can you listen to them ? That would be nice if you could - especially if you can take them home and listen with your speaker, in your listening area.

In the end, y o u have to enjoy it, so let your ear be the final judge.

I would be especially intersted in the Cayin.

As Mlauner said, any of the amps you listed would be an improvement over HK. I would buy a mid-fi amp and enjoy it for a while before spending more, because you have to upgrade all the gears in your system evenly in quality - meaning if you get even better amp, you might want to upgrade the rest of the system.

I am sure you have heard of the law of diminishing return - meaning you have to spend a lot more to gain a little in quality after a while - and this seems to be especially true in hifi.

So I would just get my feet wet with one of the amps available locally - since they are all good ones, and when you do want to upgrade your entire system even further, than you can sell the used gears locally or here on audiogon, and not loose much money.

What source do you have now ? What cd player ?

Also, do you have good cables for them ?

For problem free listening I would suggest recent used gear from say the last 5 years or Less.

There are so many amp choices like adcom, parasound etc
You migh also consider a starter tube amp like an ARC VT60
if that is not out of your budget

I have found greater improvment by upgrading the source such as your cd player or turntable.

thanks for the input so far. Input is HK FL8400 five disk changer. Turntable is a Panasonic that i like the look and weight of; nothing special. Also use the Ipod on a dock, so now i'm getting clear of its limitations and the further limitations of the stock settings. Cables... embarassingly, really basic, although the speaker cable is pretty bulky, but i don't know much more about it.

I would consider upgrading the CD player and the cables too, with a nice mid-fi unit, after upgrading the amp.

You are in for a treat - your ears will thank you - it will be a heart warming experience, if you choose carefully.

I would go slow and ask questions here before buying - there are somethings to know before you can get audiophile quality sounds at home.

There was a gentleman like yourself getting into this exciting hobby, wanting to buy a first good sounding mid-fi.

He ended with a pretty decent system all for under $2000 used.

I think it's a good idea when you said you want to upgrade the amp and then speakers. If you do that, you probably want to upgrade the source as well - and cables too.

It's good to match the quality of your gears. If you have a weak link, it will hold back the rest of the system.

Spending about 10% on cables seems to yield good
results.

If you want to go this rout, post it and I am sure you will get many good advices on building a good mid-fi system.