I believe that some are more reliable, but I do not believe (no supporting evidence) in the "brand sound". We know how to make all kinds of sound (rock/jazz live concerts) don't we? You want to make something to sound more airy, or steely, use DSP/EQ etc., and you'll get the job done. How do you think electronic keyboards, organs work? Expectation bias has huge effects, if you read a ton of material telling you about say, another brand, Marantz golden, warm, acoustical sound, and then audition their $5000 integrated amp, you will hear what you read, especially if there is a audio specialist (aka sales rep..) right there urging you to pay attention to the "air".
The fact is, it is not difficult to build amps that are accurate, transparent, it is then up to the user to play with EQ, processing to suit their own tastes.
If you are a believer though, may as well go with the A-S3000, the 801 is nice, but based on specs and measurements, they are comparable to higher mid range AVRs such as the Marantz SR7012, Denon AVR-X4400H, Yamaha RX-A2070, and up. That's just my opinion, formed over the years based on numerous comparison listening, reading up on specs and measurements, and knowledge in electronics. Comparison listening sessions were the subjective part obviously, the rest are objective facts.
