Need Advise On Upgrading My System

Sonic,

if I add a 2 channel amp to the ARCAM will I still be able to hear my TV when needed through my towers, center channel and 2 REL’s?  I have a 65” Sony on top of the entertainment cabinet so I can watch TV and movies.  We decided to turn the museum (living room) into a entertainment and music room.

if I were to add a 2 channel amp what would you recommend?  I was looking at Moon.  Also, would the ARCAM produce too much noise.?  The reason why I was looking at the ARCAM 3 is because it has their G Class amplification with a lot more power.  I viewed a video by Paul Mc Gowan with PS Audio and he talked about the importance of head room.  Since the ARCAM 3 already has built in surround and plenty of power I wonder if this extra power and headroom would make my Paradigm’s sound better.  A dealer in town told me to upgrade my speakers first because my ARCAM AVR 550 has plenty of power and it sound great.  I listened to a pair of Revel Performa’s and they sounded good.  Not sure how much better than my Paradigm’s.

Soix4,

Will I lose the surround sound when playing TV and movies.  Will the two channel amp just play the left & right front speakers plus the 2 REL S2"s when selecting this mode on my ARCAM remote.  When streaming using my BlueSound Node 2i, I select the CD mode to play my front right and left speakers plus the REL's.  Sounds a bit complicated.  

Does hooking things up the way you are suggest by pass my ARCAM entirely when playing 2 channel?  I must say I do like the sound of my ARCAM and the dealer also feels the sound is way above average.  This said, what integrated amplifiers would you recommend?  Do you still feel this would sound better than the $6,000 ARCAM 30 with the G Class amplification.

When I viewed Paul Mc Gowan's at PS Audio discussing head room that made sense to me.  Thus the thought I had of upgrading the power of my ARCAM receiver.  Kind of like driving a 400 HP car at 80 mph VS driving a 200 HP at the same speed.  I was thinking a more powerful receiver would produce sound effortlessly and as a result make my Paradigm's sound better.

I did like the sound of the REVEL Performas.  They sounded very punchy and the Beryliuum tweeter brought out the symbols better.  That is the only thing I am missing at this point.

Thanks for your reply.

Why would I lose my he REL subs)

Audi put.

I hooked up my REL’s using the Speak On connection.  I twist the yellow and red wires together and attach them to the positive left and right front speaker posts.  That is what the dealer told me to do.