I used to own a Denon AVR 5700. Then bought an amp, using the Denon as a preamp, then bought a pre/pro, and then sold the Denon. And that was only the beginning...
Based on the budget you have and assuming you already have a decent cd player, interconnects and main speaker cabling, I'd recommend the following to reach your goal:
1. Purchase an Odyssey Stratos 2-channel amplifier for $1000. See odysseyaudio.com for reviews and product info.
2. Purchase an Odyssey Temptest pre-amp for $1000.
3. Sell the Denon.
4. Sell any home theater center and surround speakers and speaker cabling you may have.
5. If you don't already own one, find a used M_U_S_I_C_A_L subwoofer for about $1000.
7. Install dedicated electrical circuits and lines for each of your components using 12 gauge or 10 gauge romex wiring: amplifier on one circuit, pre on another, cd and dvd on another, sub on another. If you do the work yourself, it'll cost you about $200 in circuit breakers, romex, etc. Make two of the dedicated lines 20 amps. One 20amp line for the amplifier and one 20amp line for your subwoofer. The other lines should be 15 amps for source and pre.
8. Purchase four of the best 20 amp industrial grade electrical outlets at Home Depot for about $12 each and install them fon your dedicated lines.
9. Forget about DD or DTS. Watch your movies in PCM 2 channel only.
10. Experiment with speaker placement to maximize your soundstage and imaging.
Do the above for about $1000-$2000 out of pocket expenses after selling other items and you'll have a very nice sounding high resolution 2-channel audio system and a very nice sounding high resolution 2-channel system for movies.
You'll forget all about DD and DTS.
You'll forget all about the missing center and surround channels.
And instead you'll have a more beautiful, clean, and simplified setup.
And your sound system for music and movies could well be categorized in the upper 10 or even 5 perctile of all audio systems.
Most importantly it's not how much you spend but on what and where you spend it on.
-IMO
Based on the budget you have and assuming you already have a decent cd player, interconnects and main speaker cabling, I'd recommend the following to reach your goal:
1. Purchase an Odyssey Stratos 2-channel amplifier for $1000. See odysseyaudio.com for reviews and product info.
2. Purchase an Odyssey Temptest pre-amp for $1000.
3. Sell the Denon.
4. Sell any home theater center and surround speakers and speaker cabling you may have.
5. If you don't already own one, find a used M_U_S_I_C_A_L subwoofer for about $1000.
7. Install dedicated electrical circuits and lines for each of your components using 12 gauge or 10 gauge romex wiring: amplifier on one circuit, pre on another, cd and dvd on another, sub on another. If you do the work yourself, it'll cost you about $200 in circuit breakers, romex, etc. Make two of the dedicated lines 20 amps. One 20amp line for the amplifier and one 20amp line for your subwoofer. The other lines should be 15 amps for source and pre.
8. Purchase four of the best 20 amp industrial grade electrical outlets at Home Depot for about $12 each and install them fon your dedicated lines.
9. Forget about DD or DTS. Watch your movies in PCM 2 channel only.
10. Experiment with speaker placement to maximize your soundstage and imaging.
Do the above for about $1000-$2000 out of pocket expenses after selling other items and you'll have a very nice sounding high resolution 2-channel audio system and a very nice sounding high resolution 2-channel system for movies.
You'll forget all about DD and DTS.
You'll forget all about the missing center and surround channels.
And instead you'll have a more beautiful, clean, and simplified setup.
And your sound system for music and movies could well be categorized in the upper 10 or even 5 perctile of all audio systems.
Most importantly it's not how much you spend but on what and where you spend it on.
-IMO