Aragon Soundstage lost surround channels... Next?


My 8 year old Soundstage lost the two rear surround channels. Must be in the decoder circuit, as the 5.1 direct in, passes audio to the amp.

Anyway, I've been thinking about a new proc for a while anyway, but I've been out of the loop for quite a while, so I don't know where to start. I def want to pick up something used, and with the economy what it is, I really don't want to sprnd more then $1000-$1500.

I'm also in a quandry about lossless hdmi codecs, as I really want to enjoy them (from my blu-ray) but here's my issue. I watch TV regularly without having the amp on, but in order to use lossless, it has to use hdmi. So I would have to turn the amp every time I watch tv? That's not what I want... Are there any options?

Thanks
mchad
I'm saying that when your watching TV your not watching your Bluray. And if your watching the Bluray without the AVR you don't need high-rez audio as your TV won't decode it.
"I watch TV regularly without having the amp on, but in order to use lossless, it has to use hdmi. So I would have to turn the amp every time I watch tv?"

I don't think this will be an issue.

- Do you have any more info on this? Are you saying that your Onkyo passes the hdmi even when off? Not clear by your statement...
I'm really impressed with my Onkyo AVR 905.

"I watch TV regularly without having the amp on, but in order to use lossless, it has to use hdmi. So I would have to turn the amp every time I watch tv?"

I don't think this will be an issue.
the emotiva umc-1 looks like a great processor at $700 on paper at least. i'm not even sure if it's hit the streets though.

http://emotiva.com/umc1.shtm