I will second the Krell & Dynaudio, in fact, together they are dynamite. I'd say listen to Dyn's Excite or Contour series. The Focus is very good but a bit more polite. If I remember correctly the 840 is balanced with XLR outputs and the Krell is truly balanced with XLR inputs. You mentioned Bryston, that would be a good choice as well. For Rock you will appreciate the control and slam of high current amps like Krell & Bryston.