Which of these 3 AVRs would you get?

[ParadigmDawg]

Get the 659 if you dont care about HDMI and the 661 if you do.

The Simplay HD Testing Program represents a standard of excellence in testing for a premium-HD "plug and play" consumer experience and to maximize users' access to HD content. Products bearing the Simplay HD logo have undergone stringent quality testing related to the High-Definition Multimedia Interface(tm) "HDMI(tm)" and High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) specifications, as well as compatibility testing with a suite of other devices that have been Simplay HD verified

Ok, I dug this up again and here is what I found:

1. 659 is rated 100wpc while 661 is 90wpc (all other things being the same)
2. 659 supports HDMI 1.1; 661 does HDMI 1.2a -> I'm not sure this is of any major consequence to me except possibly something to do with data from SACD not having to be decoded in the player but rather directly in the AVR.
3. 659 does not do HDMI repeating (or switching or whatever); 661 does
4. Something to do with Simplay -> 661 has it; 659 does not (if this statement makes any sense at all).

So can someone tell me what Simplay is? I'm sure I don't really care, but just out of curiosity. Going to Simplay's site brings up a lot of marketing hogwash that I'd rather not go through if someone who already knows can shed some light.

Other than that, just killing time here.. .

 

[asindc]

There are 3 contenders. All other things being equal, which one would you get based on 1) performance and 2) features (in that order of importance), and why? Stereo performance for music is important.

Onkyo TX-SR605
Denon AVR 887
Harman Kardon AVR 247

Thanks for your inputs.

Based on specs alone, the Onkyo.

Based on my past experience with these brands, Onkyo for ease of use, HK for sound.