hey pat, great news!
My present impressions: at your budget, I wouldn't look towards the receiver to scale. I would want at least Reon/Realta if I was to do so (1k price point) but even then, some people find that their tv (or disc players) do a better job. I have no idea which and how many video sources you want to apply VP to.
I would presume Anchor Bay is a step up. Well, Oppo's anchor bay unit costs like twice as much as their faroudja units, anyways.
Next, some Onkyos have real issue with conversion of component to HDMI, irrc/afaik.
It costs about $200 more than 663/605, but if your budget ever reached there, my opinion is that the 805 is pretty hard to beat. Do you need that much amp, maybe not, but some Aperions do have very low sens (no idea on imp).
I'd take 663 over 605 if just for 1 preouts 2 ability to matrix m-ch pcm (but evidently can't do so w/ hi def bitstream?). #2 only matters for 6.1/7.1, just fyi.
605 has more flexible bass mgmt.
805 gives you all of the above, + matrix bitstream, top of line Burr Browns, and nearly double the current of the 505/605/705. Seeing how much a decent amp costs these days, I personally think $200 could be worth it. It has 3 hdmi inputs. I also wouldn't look towards this unit to scale either.
just my 2 cents, gl pat.
ps/edit: the 805 was meant to be a $1k price point, and 605/606 as a $500 price point. Yea, real world, it costs $200 more... but it could be worth considering.
