First let me say I am a beginner in all this... I was in a similar situation, though not with speakers as nice as the Vandersteens. I had B&W 685s in a 2.1 office system, and I was very happy with the sound. I would move the system upstairs for certain home movie events, like 2012 or District 9. The sound was very disappointing, maybe because of the lack of bass management on my 2-channel receiver (an older Yamaha). Granted, the movies might have sounded better using a better 2-channel integrated, but not much.
After much soul searching, I decided on a Denon 3310ci, which I found from an authorized dealer at a good price. Testing 2.1-channel music in my office, I had the B&W 685s bi-amp'd with the Denon's rear channels, which are assignable, and I got really good results. The office was a small room, results were much less favorable in the large living room, where the 5.1 system is getting built. The Panasonic above might well give you better sound for music, I don't know. I am now planning to purchase a used 2-channel amp, such as a Rotel RB-1070 or a Parasound HCA-1000, both of which can be had for less than $400. I will use this amp to power the fronts. 2-channel music should improve.
IMHO, the receiver is necessary to capture the detail of the movie soundtracks. If you grab one that has pre-outs, and can decode the latest audio codecs, like Dolby True HD and DTS HD, you can expand your system later with external amps and have a very satisfying music AND movie experience. In my searches the cheapest receiver that had all this was a Yamaha, but I already owned a Yami and wanted to try something different, so I went for the Denon.
You could also buy a Blu Ray player that decoded the high-def sound into 5.1 or 7.1, and had the unbalanced connections on the back for each channel, but then you'd be spending a fortune in interconnects. You would still need a surround processor that had the inputs and a multi-channel amp, but these can be bought used and are cheaper than the current HDMI receivers. I didn't go this route because of the cost of the interconnects (+/- $400 for entry level Audioquest!).
In my experience the Dolby True HD and DTS HD soundtracks are incredible, and worth the expense of a current receiver. You have to decide if you are a music guy or a 2-channel guy - there are pre-amps and integrateds out there that have home theater by-pass, so you can hook them up in your HT system and use your 2-channel rig to power the fronts while watching movies. But IMHO a 1.3 HDMI receiver is the only way to go when watching Blu Ray movies.
After much soul searching, I decided on a Denon 3310ci, which I found from an authorized dealer at a good price. Testing 2.1-channel music in my office, I had the B&W 685s bi-amp'd with the Denon's rear channels, which are assignable, and I got really good results. The office was a small room, results were much less favorable in the large living room, where the 5.1 system is getting built. The Panasonic above might well give you better sound for music, I don't know. I am now planning to purchase a used 2-channel amp, such as a Rotel RB-1070 or a Parasound HCA-1000, both of which can be had for less than $400. I will use this amp to power the fronts. 2-channel music should improve.
IMHO, the receiver is necessary to capture the detail of the movie soundtracks. If you grab one that has pre-outs, and can decode the latest audio codecs, like Dolby True HD and DTS HD, you can expand your system later with external amps and have a very satisfying music AND movie experience. In my searches the cheapest receiver that had all this was a Yamaha, but I already owned a Yami and wanted to try something different, so I went for the Denon.
You could also buy a Blu Ray player that decoded the high-def sound into 5.1 or 7.1, and had the unbalanced connections on the back for each channel, but then you'd be spending a fortune in interconnects. You would still need a surround processor that had the inputs and a multi-channel amp, but these can be bought used and are cheaper than the current HDMI receivers. I didn't go this route because of the cost of the interconnects (+/- $400 for entry level Audioquest!).
In my experience the Dolby True HD and DTS HD soundtracks are incredible, and worth the expense of a current receiver. You have to decide if you are a music guy or a 2-channel guy - there are pre-amps and integrateds out there that have home theater by-pass, so you can hook them up in your HT system and use your 2-channel rig to power the fronts while watching movies. But IMHO a 1.3 HDMI receiver is the only way to go when watching Blu Ray movies.