conceptually, there's no reason that a well-designed avr won't sound as good as seperates utilizing substantially the same components, and a high end avr like the arcam should outperform more modest separates. to me, tho, it makes little sense to consider a $6000 avr if you're only interested in 2 channel--you'd be paying for a lot of video, dsp, connectivity and other gimmickry you don't need and won't use (sorta like buying a mega buck viking range to use as a toaster).
