I have four pair of wired in wall speakers at my new place. Put a small system in a closet to accommodate them, just switch between speaker pairs with a monster switch. Had to swap out the big old Carver integrated 'cause I needed it elsewhere, so I bought a cheap Sony receiver for $98 delivered. Big mistake. What a flat-sounding turd. Sent it back after a couple days.
Enter this inexpensive gem:http://www.musicdirect.com/p-144111-musical-fidelity-v90-amp-usb-integrated-amp.aspx
Boy is this thing a stunner for the $$. I got the demo for $125 delivered. 20 wpc, DAC, and does optical in or USB. Perfect for me 'cause I'm using just an old squeezebox, nothing more. Sounds really, really nice! A little laid back, not the highly detailed MF I'm used to from a much larger, powerful integrated. Great imaging and space. Puts that Sony thing to shame. Now mind you, it's not the end all, but seriously over performs for the money. If you're looking for cheap and don't need a ton of power, I highly recommend this paperback-sized integrated.
Hope everyone's doing well!
Kirch
