Same as many here -- domestic demands of an essentially one box solution. What's out there that does music and HT w/equal facility? Routing a processor through the tape loop of a two channel analog preamp wasn't going to fly w/my wife to be, and was frankly getting to be a pain to me as well.

Owned a Proceed AVP which was a great, underrated piece. Peerless ergonomics, very good two channel performance both analog and digital. But upgrading was a fiasco hence the demise of Proceed.

Got a Lex. MC12B -- took me a year to admit what I knew almost immediately: music sounds flat through it.

568.2MM/598 combo covered both worlds. How many other brands out there truly do this? (Halcro? Theta? Linn?) Have since traded the 568 for a G68. I appeciate the RC and video switching. As an SB user in other systems around the house, I've been sitting on the fence (why don't I wait to there's no used value!) as to whether to dump the 598 -- only worth I see for it now or soon is as a CD transport, will have to A/B this vs. an SB through the G68 one of these days. My speakers are and will likely remain analog.

I like that Meridian stuff is unique. They write their own code and have some exclusive and useful features that we all know about. Ergonomics are still second rate (why do I have to flip through a ton of surround modes I never use and are wholly inappropriate to the input?, for ex.), but is there anyone who knows more about digital than Bob Stuart?

My main HT/music space will be remade in the summer, and I may be retooling then. Hope we'll have a better idea where M is going w/it all by then.

btw, I'm writing audio reviews at www.sonicflare.com (Robert Learner), check 'em out along w/my audio bio.