Are your front 3 speakers identical?
If not, then it won't matter, buy the best 2ch amp (a lot more choices than 3ch amps) you can afford.
Relieving the HT receiver of front L&R duties will allow it to provide better power to the center and surrounds.
Lin
^ This.
Your center channel more than likely won't drive the amplifier anywhere near as hard as the front speakers, therefore using the amps already built into your receiver will be sufficient enough for said center. This is why everyone is suggesting that you focus on a solid 2-channel amp; the main front speakers will require the most juice.
Garth, my future amplifier (hopefully by the spring time) will be the very Parasound A21 I suggested. Until then I've been happy with the Butler 2250 and Parasound A23 (my two most recent amps). The A23 is the smaller brother to the A21, and the reason I purchased it is because I didn't have enough funds allocated at the time to go for the A21. I'll be upgrading soon, though.
