I love my Marantz NR1604. Mine is paired with Klipsch Reference Speakers. The sound is clear. Hearing the silence between notes is musical nirvana to my ears. My front speakers are bi-amped. I have crystal clear highs with smooth sounding mids. My lows are handled with a subwoofer. My room is about 15'x20'. On the smaller side which is matched well with the 50 watts per channel Marantz amp.