oki I am a bit late for joining this thread.
I also had the seperate Rotels (2x971, 1x 970 and 2x 960)
I used them all bridged a made a reasonable 5.1 setup.
One problem was the amount of amps.
I upgraded to a Rotel RB-993 & 991. It cost me about £700 for the two amps (eBay) it cut me down to two boxes, but the most important thing was the quality jump.
The 971 is a reasonable amp, the 991 is one of the best i have ever used. The only amp i have ever heard that sounds better was the KRELL CLASS A 200w.
Ok it is probably more than you were expecting to pay, but it is means you will probably never need to upgrade the amps again, which will not be true with the 971s.
The amps are also not easy to find, set up an search reminder on eBay, you will probably get the amps in 6-9 months.
not quick, not easy but worth it.
