First post and hope I don't make a fool of myself.
After selling a Parasound Halo A21 I hooked up my Marantz AV7702 processor to an old Yamaha AVR
RX-V2400. Didn't even know I could use an AVR for it's "amps on board" w/ a processor, but once I figured it out I got use to the sound quality without the Parasound.
But like most audio guys I thought I missed the "greatness" of an external amp and I repurchased another Parasound Halo A21 with about 10 hours of use.
After listening to movies and music I have to say I'm rather disappointed.
Have to agree with others that a quality AVR, (or in my case a processor using an old AVR for amplification) can often come close to matching the sound of an expensive separate amplifier.
FWIW I would say that the Halo A21 maybe - maybe offers a 30% improvement and for the $2k spent I am going back to using my AVR's that are laying around for amplifiers.
Parasound Halo A21, Marantz AV7702, B&W 683, Canton Karat 30, Subs, M&K, B&W, Martin Logan Dynamo 1000, Apple TV Gen 4, ...