Wow what loaded questions. Let me offer some food for thought.
1) room correction absolutely makes a difference. ARC is fantastic. Especially at frequencies below 200 the difference is remarkable. ARC is better than the default Audyssey and you get before and after graphs. The pro version of Audyssey gives you e wry thing ARC does out of the box.
2) as it stands today, getting a non HDMI unit is a tough sell. You lose so much without HDMI--including lossless codecs and room correction and bass management. A few units (like the anthem) will do those on top of an analog signal but ultimately why?
3) if you only have analog sources then getting an older, higher end unit makes sense. But if that's not the case I would personally get a modern unit with HDMI and room correction and newer DACS.
If you are budget strapped then get an Integra or comparable Onkyo or a Marantz or Denon from Accessories. You can save as much as 70% sometimes. I completely second that assessment. Also check your local HiFi dealer if they have any demos. Those are between 20-50 percent off.
1) room correction absolutely makes a difference. ARC is fantastic. Especially at frequencies below 200 the difference is remarkable. ARC is better than the default Audyssey and you get before and after graphs. The pro version of Audyssey gives you e wry thing ARC does out of the box.
2) as it stands today, getting a non HDMI unit is a tough sell. You lose so much without HDMI--including lossless codecs and room correction and bass management. A few units (like the anthem) will do those on top of an analog signal but ultimately why?
3) if you only have analog sources then getting an older, higher end unit makes sense. But if that's not the case I would personally get a modern unit with HDMI and room correction and newer DACS.
If you are budget strapped then get an Integra or comparable Onkyo or a Marantz or Denon from Accessories. You can save as much as 70% sometimes. I completely second that assessment. Also check your local HiFi dealer if they have any demos. Those are between 20-50 percent off.