I will agree that there is not much else out there that can better an 861! But with two very young kids now I don't want to spend $15,000.

The 561 meets most of my needs for the moment, but when I do decide to upgrade in the future, I will certainly look at all the other options out there. I believe this market has become more competitive, and there are a lot of processors out there now which offer many if not more features at lesser prices than Meridian (excluding the 861 of course). Do they sound any better? That is definitely the question! My 561 is no slouch when it comes to decoding DD, DTS, etc, but maybe in the three years that I have owned it, other brands have caught up.

If money were no object, however, Meridian would still be my first choice.