Just Curious - About using a AV Receiver as main unit

It doesn't clip. In fact it goes from -100 to +12 db and at 0db it is very loud! Seriously, if you don't have direct experience with the models being spoken about you really have no idea. Its driving my KEF R200s. Kef 1600 center, Kef surrounds and Martin Logan sub effortlessly as far as I can tell. It does get warm but it rocks on movies or music and I 've never heard clipping. When I first got my Kefs and a panasonic dvd multichannel I was playing Come Together in surround and the martin logan was sliding on the floor and you could hear it down the street. No clipping or distortion, just lennons voice clearer then I ever heard it coming from the center channel and amazing drums. That was playing it extremely loud at maybe +4. Aerosmiths SACD of Toys in the Attic breathes new life into the album. People would be blown away if they listened to dsd with good 5.1 speakers being fed 140 watts per channel. Elton John's tumbleweed connection is an absolute revelation compared to its stereo counterpart. One of the best albums I've ever heard.

 

https://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_12_4/denon-avr-4806-receiver-12-2005-part-5.html

This is the benchmark test from Stereophile showing the 4806 does everything well and puts out 181 per channel in 2 channel mode.

This is the model below the flagship the original poster referenced. with even more power and better dacs. A great benefit is there are complete multi hundred page forums and reviews dedicated to the performance and operation of these AVRs because they were so well regarded and popular. You can peruse this info to see if it meets your needs. 

The sheer amount of switching you can do is incredible. I can have the album of a track playing on one channel, cd on another, sacd on another, hi res streaming version on another, blue ray 5.1 on another and switch back and forth between all of these to compare.

As I mentioned before you are not limited to using the dacs in the AV which is stlll some of the best sound you'll probably hear anywhere when letting dsd pass undecoded for the AVR to decode or optionally let your player decode and play through the analog inputs. I'm not knocking separates but most 2 channel systems don't need more than 180 watts per channel. Having a high end AVR switcher in you system provides alot of flexibility and you can always add a tube preamp or outboard tube dac such as I did for two channel. I don't doubt if you spend enough money, separates don't sound superior but where exactly is that line and is it worth it? By definition I suppose an AVR is a compromise, but to me the higher end ones can seem like the best of both worlds.My guess is I'd need to go from mid fi to high end reference speakers to really need separates and I've seen plenty of lower priced high end speakers like Dyna audio etc. being powered by these large AVRs to great effect.

By definition I suppose an AVR is a compromise, but to me the higher end ones can seem like the best of both worlds.My guess is I'd need to go from mid fi to high end reference speakers to really need separates

The only correct part of this statement is “an AVR is a compromise.”  As for the rest, well, not so much.  You really need to go hear even some decent, modestly-priced 2-channel setups to hear what’s possible.  Most any relatively cheap stereo integrated will outperform the priciest AVRs for 2-channel.  

Actually no not even that part is correct. An AVR is not a compromise. An AVR is abject surrender. Total fail.   

Most any relatively cheap stereo integrated will outperform the priciest AVRs for 2-channel.   

Correctamundo. Absolutely. Without a doubt.