Do standalone receivers produce better sound than HTIB receivers?

[MrHT]

The reason I ask this question is because I'm ignorant on the subject. I would think that your DVD/BD player bitstreams the audio codec and any receiver would simply decode and emit the sound onto your speakers. All receivers decode the DIGITAL sound, so I'm not sure how one receiver can possibly have better sound than the other.

Can a standalone receiver have better sound than those HTIB receiver? If so, how?

Thanks!