Well, I was one of the unfortunate ones that blew my top of the line Marantz stereo amp...I have a lot of friends that did the same. You might get lucky. These amps are meant for music that has already been compressed...volume isn't the issue...thus, the sudden spikes. The Marantz speakers have a control on each with "flat" that makes them very good for mixing but still, they color the tone and the mix never sounds like it should thru other speakers. I found a 1 year old Alesis RA 100 and a pair of Monitor Ones for $200 when I was first setting up my home studio (not the best setup but I was a newbie at the time and the price was right). Too bad it cost me a helluva lot more for the Marantz. But you are right, you don't have to break the bank, especially when places like AmericanMusicalSupply and others offer extended payments.