As always when people ask for help, defining a budget is useful.
I am very happy with my two Anthem MX-520 /AVRs in my 2 HT systems. Certainly they were an upgrade of the AVRs that preceded them for music.
As for the hyperbolic statement that one can't get good musical results with an AVR, it's just nonsense, particularly with multichannel recordings. If you have good speakers and the room itself is amenable (many HT are in basements or garages that just don't lend themselves to good sound reproduction) then there is no reason that you can't get a good outcome
I am very happy with my two Anthem MX-520 /AVRs in my 2 HT systems. Certainly they were an upgrade of the AVRs that preceded them for music.
As for the hyperbolic statement that one can't get good musical results with an AVR, it's just nonsense, particularly with multichannel recordings. If you have good speakers and the room itself is amenable (many HT are in basements or garages that just don't lend themselves to good sound reproduction) then there is no reason that you can't get a good outcome