http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshall-DS ... 1443118.gc

Ideal for intermediate-advance guitarist like myself who would want to play heavy/thrash metal?

It's decent enough, yeah. From what I've heard the guitar techs on tour and at festivals saying, the DSL is good, but stay away from the TSL.

If you want a Marshall, consider Splawn. They do the tone MUCH better in my opinion. Otherwise, the JMP-1 rack preamp is awesome.

Those Splawn amps look cool, but $2000 might not be in his price range.
I say if you're playing thrash the DSL is perfect, but it doesn't have quite enough gain for more extreme metals. While we're on the subject, I do want a DSL 100 for live shows, but my music demands a very gratuitous amount of gain. Would an OD pedal or maybe active pickups help? Or maybe an amp that is similar to the Marshall but a bit heavier? I am not big on Boogies, and Peaveys are pretty heavy but lacking tone (especially in the clean dept. which is important since I'd be using the clean channel live). Haven't tried ENGL, but I'd prefer to stay in the price range of the DSL.

i had a DSL100 that a friend lent to me for about a year, i couldn't stand it, one of my least favorite amps.

You can get a used Splawn for under $1000.

Absolutely - the TSL is really fizzy sounding but the DSL is more of a classic Marshall sound. I got a DSL when they came out and I've never wanted another amp (except maybe a silver jubilee!). They aren't particularly suited to the more modern metal sounds but that's a good thing IMO - they have a more ballsy, heavy sound than a lot of amps that get used in metal these days. Not as compressed or scooped which to my ears is a good thing but everyone has their own opinions - I'd definately try one out for yourself.

the JVM is alright, didnt like the DSL, and not really a fan of marshalls in general