trevor79:I think you can get an enjoyable Hi-Fi sound off a decent AV amp.
To get the most for your money I would consider buying a better specked discontinued model.
You will never get the same performance off lifestyle speakers that you would off full size ones, but hey if it means you listen to more music than you would otherwise that's a result!
Another thing.....feeding your AV amp with a clean Mains supply certainly gives improved clarity to music with a clearer signal path through the amp.
Agree with all of this. One of the older AV amps from Arcam would be a good choice - their two-channel stereo is as good as many dedicated stereo amps.
An alternative is to get an AV amp which has pre-outs for at least the front left and right, and a stereo amp that can be used in "processor mode" (i.e. fixed gain) on one input. Then you can have surround sound from your AV amp, with the front pair powered by the stereo amp and put 2-channel sources straight into the stereo amp.
Unfortunately, this plan only really works if you have a pair of full-range speakers for the front pair, rather than lifestyle sats.