I need an amp for the TV sound, to replace the second-hand receiver I
use now. The requirements are very low: it is the basic two channel
amplifier I'm after.

However, all supermarkets around sells 5 channel remote controlled
receivers with surround decoders and RDS tuner for the equivalent of
200-300 US dollars. Is there anything basically wrong with these? They
wear well knows brand stickers, Sony for instance. What would be the
difference engineering-wise between these cheap receivers and the
alternative, a 2-channel Rotel or NAD? They must have saved the money
somewhere when designing these cheap recievers.

Speakers will be closed-box KEF B200+T27 (KEF Choral?), and output
power is not an issue, anything is enough. Critical listening is done
through the main system, not this one, but even the TV sound should be
free of distorion artifacts and be possible to listen to.

The Sony STR-DE695 and 495 are good examples of what I am looking at.

Per.