My one issue with these units (aside from the confusion caused by the number of pre-outs, binding posts, internal amps, and actual number of speakers that can be processed and output simultaneously all being different!) is that they do not include HDCP 2.2 support.
This year, in particular, is such a strange year. The HDMI chips just didn't exist in order to have BOTH full 18 Gbps HDMI 2.0 bandwidth AND HDCP 2.2 on a single HDMI processing chip. Instead, AV Receiver manufacturers had to make a choice - one or the other.
Onkyo/Integra appears to be the only major brand that opted for HDCP 2.2 support. But in order for them to do so, they had to accept a bandwidth limitation of 10.2 Gbps on their HDMI 2.0 connections.
Denon/Marantz, Pioneer, and Yamaha all opted to have the full 18 Gbps bandwidth on their HDMI 2.0 ports, but without HDCP 2.2 support.
So this seems like a spectacularly good year to avoid buying an AV Receiver to me! In a year's time, we'll almost certainly see AV Receivers offering full 18 Gbps bandwidth HDMI 2.0 ports WITH HDCP 2.2 support. I'm also hoping the major AV Receiver brands will take advantage of Dolby Atmos' ability to make use of more speaker positions than we might have initially anticipated.
Dolby released their Atmos for the Home Theater White Paper:
http://www.avsforum.com/uploads/Dolby-Atmos-for-the-Home-Theater.pdf
It doesn't answer every question, but it does mention that the Atmos Object Audio Renderer is entirely capable of making use of the existing Front Wide (+/- 55-60 degrees azimuth, ear level) speaker positions, as well as the existing Front Height (+/- 30-45 degrees azimuth, 30-45 degrees elevation) speaker positions. It can also make use of Front-Center L/R positions that go in between the Front Left and Center, and the Center and Front Right speakers. And with up to 5 elevation angles possible overhead, greater precision is entirely possible when it comes to telling your AV Receiver where your ceiling speakers are located during menu setup.
My point is, I highly doubt that any of this year's Atmos-capable AV Receivers will have menu options for anything other than "1 pair of ceiling speakers, 2 pairs of ceiling speakers, or Front Wide speakers". What if you want to use one pair of existing Front Height speakers plus 4 ceiling speakers? That's technically still a 7.1.4 Atmos configuration, but it doesn't appear to be an option in this year's crop. Never-the-less, Dolby's white paper suggests that Front Left, Front Right, Center, Surround Left, Surround Right, Front Height Left, Front Height Right, Ceiling Front Left, Ceiling Front Right, Ceiling Rear Left, and Ceiling Rear Right is an entirely useable speaker placement as far as the Atmos Renderer is concerned.
Anyways, the lack of having both full bandwidth HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 together in any AV Receiver this year gives me great pause. If you're not worried about greater colour bit-depth, high dynamic range, or 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 chroma subsampling, then you're better off going for the HDCP 2.2 support. But then your only options are Onkyo and Integra, and they decided to skimp big time on their DSP processing capabilities this year.
I wish there were just ONE good choice, even if it's expensive, but there isn't. So unless you're cool with upgrading your AV Receiver every 1-2 years, I'd strongly advise waiting for the 2015 crop. Early adopters, have fun! I wish I could join you! But I'll have to wait this one out.
