Dear Ben:
I know almost everyone with the right parts abd tools can make his own amplifier as a garage project or something, but what about making a multi channel (5.1) amplifier that also decodes Dolby Digital / AC3 from Coaxial and Optical into six discrete channels? It should also have multi channel analog inputs and maybe other inputs like AUX for Stereo to 5.1 upmixing. I think about 50W RMS per channel is about right, as with more power it becomes rather expensive and you better buy a multi channel receiver... Do you think it can be made as a cheaper/better alternative?