I have an interest in traditional two channel high end home Hi-Fi and have purchased a few generations of seperates. I prefer the "British" sound as I think it is smoother and warmer than the harsher tones from overseas. That does not mean to say that the likes of Marantz do not produce a good sound. Far from it in fact, it is simply personal preference. 

 

Recent years have seen the major introduction of high end multi channel audio for use in Home Theatre setups. These do indeed produce a fantastic movie experience, especially when combined with a large Plasma or LCD television. However, for music these systems are almost universally lacking for music and that is why I am happy to see that the niche audio manufacturers are still investing time and effort into two channel equipment.