I've been away over the Thanksgiving holiday, so haven't had time to do much more thinking about a replacement for my 1070.

I'd like to add a little something to my comments about the sound of the Emotiva DMR-1 I tried, as compared to the 1070. I finally got around to reconnecting the 1070 tonight, and I think I suddenly realized what the DMR-1 was lacking: It didn't do a good job of preserving low-level audio information at typical listening levels. It's not that any details were totally missing, but more like I threw a thin blanket over my speakers.

The DMR-1 did, however, just plain blow away the 1070 in terms of power. I'm not really talking here about how loud it could play, but rather how much crisper, tighter and dynamic the DMR-1 sounded even at low listening levels. If you'll pardon the expression, it sounded like it grabbed my speakers by the balls. The difference was quite dramatic, for both movies and music.

So I think you folks who are trying separates and/or external power amps are on the right track. My problem is I just don't have room in my entertainment center for a separate power amp. The space is only 10.5" high, and you have to leave some breathing room for ventilation, you know? Even the bigger Japanese receivers wouldn't fit comfortably.

chas - Please let us know your experiences with the 970... my understanding was that it's the same pre/pro as in the 1070, and I certainly don't want that!

Lizard King - I'll be interested to hear your impressions of the 1070 + Anthem when it arrives.

John Galt - HDMI (of any flavor) is not a factor for me in a replacement for the 1070. I prefer to run all my video direct, and I imagine it'll be at least a couple years before I will have any need for the audio capabilities of HDMI. And there'll probably be some new version by then In regard to connecting my Dish receiver via analog... I think that would at least partly solve my problems with the 1070, but I'd lose 5.1 audio when it's available.