In the current Audio Advisor catalog, there are two combo receivers that seem to incorporate what are being called "digital" amps. One is by Yamaha and the other by Marantz.
Yamaha:
http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=YAMADVRS150&product_name=DVRS150%20DVD%20Player/Home%20Theater%20ReceiverMarantz:
http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=MARAER2500&product_name=DVD%20Player/HT%20Receiver%20ComboI would like to remove as many boxes from my living room as possible - right now, there's a Marantz AV600 pre-proc, an AudioControl PCA3 crossover/bass processor, and a stack of Adcom amps cluttering it up - so these combo systems appeal to me on that level. Also, my current preamp only does DPL1 and THX, and I've been thinking about upgrading to something that does discrete multichannel digital formats for a while even though 99.9999% of my system use is for music and the movies I like tend to be just as good in mono as in multichannel.
I would say that right now I'm deciding between one of the new JVC receivers and these two, though the AB amp Pioneer 1015 is a dark horse contender because of its reputation. On paper, what I like the about the the Yamaha most is the EQ, and as long as its speaker connectors can take minimum 16AWG wire I think it's an elegant solution. The Marantz is more expensive but my current Marantz preamp 6.1 seems kind of neat even though good speakers are so expensive to build (let alone buy!) that I doubt I'd ever have six of them in one room, and if it has an extra amp for the sub the PS should be able to better take lower impedance on the remaining six channels if the sub is externally amplified; the major downside with it is that it's silver rather than black. What I like about the JVC on paper is tighter integration with my primary source, a Mac with a Firewire RAID array for music; what I don't like about it is that I'll need a separate DVD player.
Has anyone used either of these receivers or know anything about their bass management and center-steering capabilities? Right now, I don't have a center that's up to the task of my in-process main speakers, DIY jobs using Tannoy 8" dual concentrics with midbass support TBD, so being able to steer the center signal to the mains is especially important. Amp power is not as long as all of these receivers actually put out within 50% of their rated power, as my mains will be ~91dB/w/m efficient.
