The Amfitheater 1 from Mondial Designs (the same people who make the Accurus and Aragon lines) is a $500 Dolby Pro-Logic A/V receiver. It is designed in the U.S. and is manufactured in Asia.
Being on a tight budget meant I could not afford seperate components. And my music system would also have to double as my home theater setup. With the exception of the Carver HTR-880, none of the Japanese receivers I listened to sounded very good until you reached their top of the line products (and even then some of them were too harsh and brittle).
Just as I was ready to pull out what little hair I have left, the Amfi was released. One audition sold me. Very smooth and musical. No harshness and brashness so often associated with inexpensive components. Music sounds like music. The Carver was close but cost $300 more. The Amfi 1 is at least as good sound wise.
In Pro-Logic mode the Amfi is superb. Transients from front to rear are smooth and seamless. The speakers in my system are a quintet of NHT SuperOnes and NHT's SW1P sub. The dynamics are all our small listening room (and my family!) will allow. Music using only the front two SuperOnes and the sub is even more impressive. Currently I'm using an AMC CD-8 CD player (purchased in a dealers closeout for $200). This will be replaced by a Sony S7000 DVD player sometime this fall or winter. If what I've read is true this should improve the music even more.
Even though I love this receiver there are some problems that potential buyers should be aware of. My television in this system is a Toshiba CX35F70 (killer set by the way). The Toshiba's remote has the same code as the Amfi and will inadvertantly switch things on the Amfi. This can be an interface nightmare. Secondly, the Amfi is not Dolby Digital upgradeable. But because it is by far the most musical A/V receiver in it's price point I've learned to live with it until I can afford to upgrade. Finally, the Amfi's remote itself (which, curiously, does not interfere with the Toshiba in any way) is unintuitive and does not work well at a distance or off axis.
To sum up, if you are on a budget and need a great sounding A/V receiver that also will reproduce music well the Amfi may be the component for you. If not for the interface problems I would award it five stars (sound wise for $500 it is 5 stars!).

The Amfitheater 1 from Mondial Designs (the same people who make the Accurus and Aragon lines) is a $500 Dolby Pro-Logic A/V receiver. It is designed in the U.S. and is manufactured in Asia.
Being on a tight budget meant I could not afford seperate components. And my music system would also have to double as my home theater setup. With the exception of the Carver HTR-880, none of the Japanese receivers I listened to sounded very good until you reached their top of the line products (and even then some of them were too harsh and brittle).
Just as I was ready to pull out what little hair I have left, the Amfi was released. One audition sold me. Very smooth and musical. No harshness and brashness so often associated with inexpensive components. Music sounds like music. The Carver was close but cost $300 more. The Amfi 1 is at least as good sound wise.
In Pro-Logic mode the Amfi is superb. Transients from front to rear are smooth and seamless. The speakers in my system are a quintet of NHT SuperOnes and NHT's SW1P sub. The dynamics are all our small listening room (and my family!) will allow. Music using only the front two SuperOnes and the sub is even more impressive. Currently I'm using an AMC CD-8 CD player (purchased in a dealers closeout for $200). This will be replaced by a Sony S7000 DVD player sometime this fall or winter. If what I've read is true this should improve the music even more.
Even though I love this receiver there are some problems that potential buyers should be aware of. My television in this system is a Toshiba CX35F70 (killer set by the way). The Toshiba's remote has the same code as the Amfi and will inadvertantly switch things on the Amfi. This can be an interface nightmare. Secondly, the Amfi is not Dolby Digital upgradeable. But because it is by far the most musical A/V receiver in it's price point I've learned to live with it until I can afford to upgrade. Finally, the Amfi's remote itself (which, curiously, does not interfere with the Toshiba in any way) is unintuitive and does not work well at a distance or off axis.
To sum up, if you are on a budget and need a great sounding A/V receiver that also will reproduce music well the Amfi may be the component for you. If not for the interface problems I would award it five stars (sound wise for $500 it is 5 stars!).

I purchased this unit in August. It has been a joy to listen to ever since. I agree with the above review that their isn't a more musical, higher build quality AV receiver at this price point. The only unit that came close for me was the H/K AVR40.