I have a budget of about $1,500 for a HT receiver or a separate amp and receiver combination. 2-channel music is at least as important as HT for me. I am looking at 2 options:
1) NAD or Arcam integrated amp plus a mid-priced Denon or similar receiver, or 2) Arcam AVR250 receiver only.
In essence my question boils down to:
Is the well reviewed AVR250 at $1,500 as good as an equivalently powered $500 - $800 integrated amp for 2-channel music?
If the general answer is no, I'll go with option 1.
I have no personal experience with Arcam but my gut feeling would be that if you can afford separates they will always sound better than an under $1000 receiver, and probably about the same as a $1500 receiver.
Since you want to do both HT and 2-channel music I'd suggest looking into something like a Marantz 5500 ($600 shipped) or Marantz 7400 ($650 shipped from accessories4less.com) and pair it with a 2-channel amp like a NAD for around $800. That looks to me like the best of both worlds, the receiver takes care of your HT and the amp does your music.