Once again - look at the Integra. It is my opinion that there are very few companies who are capable of building this type of unit. I would not summarily dismiss the industry leaders because you will find that you have no alternatives left.
As far as the Sony - do your homework. First and foremost it does not have Audyssey. Any investment in a new HT receiver or pre/pro without Audyssey is a clean miss. This probably reflects Sony's long established fondness for closed standards and formats.
I find it disturbing that Sony does not specify the type of HDMI they support. Because of their support for deep color I believe it is 1.3 but I would want to be certain.
I do not have an opinion about the quality of the Faroudja processors - Faroudja is a long time standard but lately the buzz has been about Reon and Anchor Bay. If the processor is important to you, some homework is in order.
Finally being curious I went to the Sony site and downloaded the Owners Manual. It is filled with descriptions of how to use the unit with their proprietary Bravia-ware. I hope there is more to the manual because it is woefully inadequate. Per my previous post I would not buy anything without understanding the GUI firtst.
But hey, horses for courses. If your heart is set on a Sony have at it...
As far as the Sony - do your homework. First and foremost it does not have Audyssey. Any investment in a new HT receiver or pre/pro without Audyssey is a clean miss. This probably reflects Sony's long established fondness for closed standards and formats.
I find it disturbing that Sony does not specify the type of HDMI they support. Because of their support for deep color I believe it is 1.3 but I would want to be certain.
I do not have an opinion about the quality of the Faroudja processors - Faroudja is a long time standard but lately the buzz has been about Reon and Anchor Bay. If the processor is important to you, some homework is in order.
Finally being curious I went to the Sony site and downloaded the Owners Manual. It is filled with descriptions of how to use the unit with their proprietary Bravia-ware. I hope there is more to the manual because it is woefully inadequate. Per my previous post I would not buy anything without understanding the GUI firtst.
But hey, horses for courses. If your heart is set on a Sony have at it...