Audiophile (ie, good) sounding receiver with HDMI 1.3, TrueHD, and DTS MA?

[DaViD Boulet]

Just realized that the Pioneer 91 (about $1200) and 92 (about $1500) are not only HDMI 1.3, but have both TrueHD *and* DTS-HD Master decoding and pass full 1080p video so you can put the device in the path of the projector. Same with the new Sony ES gear.

Wow.

I have a B&K processor right now and it sounds great... much better than the Denon and Onkyo receivers that I had compared it against back when I bought it around 2002.

So, are there any "golden eared" among you who can really tell me how these new receivers sound? I don't mean "man the bass shook my couch!". I mean "wow, the midrange sounded smooth and natural and didn't sound bright and flattened like with typical receivers", if you get my drift.

I want to upgrade to advanced audio decoding and HDMI 1.3 but I don't want to take a step backwards in overall sound quality from my B&K.

I do have an outboard amp for 2-channel stereo music listening and just use the B&K as a pre-amp in that mode, so as long as the receiver sounds good as a stereo pre-amp I'll be happy with music listening.

Is there a forum where audiophile talk about this stuff?

thanks!

dave