I believe Mr. Iwang hit it on the nail. The 561, 565, or 568 version 1 still beat the pants off the krells, classe, or thetas sonically because of Meridian's work/research in the digital field. It has the best algorithms bar none and they are included in every Meridian processor and thats what we pay for. not upgradeability, no pass-thru or other bells and whistles. By the way Mr. Doody, you must own an 861 and drive a Yugo, which is not a bad way to go.