I am in the same situation!
I am also looking for an amp in this price range. I am setting up a 5.1 system using Magnepan 1.6R which are power hungry. I have pretty much narrowed it down to the Parasound 5250 which is about $1400 and the Odyssey Stratos HT-3 with Khatargo for the rears. About $2100. The others which have kind of faded in the top group include ATI-1805, W4S Minis, Outlaw 7500 and the Anthem 7605. Depending on your power requirements you may also want to look at the musical fidelity ht600 B-stock