Better Integrated Amp?

I agree with sfar in that it would probably be a good idea to buy the Denon from a dealer who could possibly guide you towards some appropriate speakers and whatever else you need.  Just be realistic.  You say you prefer rock/metal that is often difficult to reproduce at even moderate volumes as opposed to string quartets and the like.  Maybe a nice pair of headphones? I bet the Denon has a half decent headphone jack. 

You really should list your speakers and what type of music you play, but honestly, shopping in the $600 price range doesn’t leave you much room. The Denon integrated has been well reviewed, so maybe that’s your best option. There’s nothing wrong with the less expensive integrateds. I have an Onkyo A-9150 that was about $500 that is very nice and includes a phono stage and a DAC which is not horrible. Buy what you can afford and listen to some music. We all need to start someplace. All this said - sometimes we set a price point in our heads that is just not realistic. If you really don’t have the money that’s one thing, but sometimes we just get an idea of what we think we want to spend and it takes some time to get over the sticker shock of what the stuff we want actually costs. It’s all part of the process.