Advice on amp

[benjie2000]

I have a Yamaha AV receiver (pro logic 1) that I bought several years ago. I do have Boston Acoustics speakers all around and a Paradigm sub. My main speakers are the VR 40 model.
I am not contented with the stereo sound.

I am thinking of buying an amp for stereo purposes alone. What is the best amp to drive the BA VR 40 speakers? Will I need pre-amp?
Hopefully this will really make the stereo sound excel.

My budget will be around 3000 CDN dollars for an amp or amp/pre amp combo.

Thanks.

[Wireworm5]

A new Bryston 3B-sst sells in the neighborhood of $3200 cdn.. Don't know if its the best but if it ain't then I'd sure like to hear what the best sounds like and how much more it costs. I bought a used 3B-st to power my studio 100's which was powered previously by my Yamaha RX-V2200. The 100's require a little bit more umph than your typical speaker and more than what my Yammie could deliver. On the first test run it was immediately obvious my 100's sounded better. Perhaps just upgrading to a newer model Yammie or a Digital receiver would suffice to improve your Bostons to your liking. Or as in my case a source upgrade has revealed details in recordings I didn't know where there!
Remember system synergy is only as good as the weakest link.