rfive

Yes, they do go on sale a couple times a year. You just missed the 4th of July sale. Last year I think they had a Halloween sale.

No, the amp will not lose its power over time. As wuzzzer mentioned, with the price of raw materials going up sharply I could imagine that the price of big amps such as the XPA-3 will be much higher in another 4 years. If you plan to upgrade your speakers anyway, get the amp now and enjoy it.

As the others have stated, you will not hurt your speakers by simply connecting them to an amp with a higher rated power than the speakers call for. Just because the amp is rated for 200W per channel does not mean it always putting out 200W per channel. The XPA-5 will be a great amp for you (tons of headroom). Unfortunately, you will need a receiver with preamp outputs. A couple good places for inexpensive receivers are Harmon Kardon's ebay store and Accessories for Less

I would take a look at the Onkyo and Marantz units at ac4l.com.They are an authorized dealer for both brands and sell some refurbished gear at some great prices. I have bought several receivers from there and have never been disappointed by the condition of the products (look brand new to me) and the quality of the customer service (I had to return one once). I am not affiliated with them but I am a happy customer. I have owned carver, yamaha, panasonic (digital amp), harmon kardon, and am currently running an Emotiva pre/pro and amp. I have also installed Onkyos and Yamahas in other peoples setups. While they are all unique I believe they would all be satisfactory for someone who was not already used to another brand. For around $600 I would look at the Onkyo TX-NR808 http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKTXNR808/Onkyo-TX-NR808-7.2-Channel-3-D-Ready-Network-A/V-Receiver/1.html Or the Marantz SR6005 http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/MARSR6005A/MARANTZ-SR6005-110w-X-7ch-3-D-Home-Theater-Surround-Receiver/1.html Good luck.