What are options for 7.1 PRE/PRO for around $1400

How large is your listening area? The room needs to be fairly large to consider 7.1, IMHO. Then it would depend on your personal tastes. I find 5.1 is great for my HT needs, I feel no desire to go to 7.1, but 80% of my listening is music (2 channel only). My room is 24 X 14 X 8.5 .As far as pre/pro's go, a friend of mine has a Aragon Soundstage, which does a very nice job. I think you should be able to get one of those for around $1400. I liked it better than the B&K Reference 30.

Obviously, it's your personal decision if you want to "upgrade" to a 7.1 surround system, but I have to agree with J.C. in the previous post. Unless you have a VERY large listening room, a 7.1 system offers no advantage over a good 5.1 system, and in some respects it is worse since the additional channels of sound are matrixed, not discrete. Last, for what it's worth, there are almost no DVD's with 6.1 soundtracks, much less 7.1, and the Hollywood recording engineers have very little intention of moving beyond 5.1. You should read Bryston's newsletters (see the following two links) which contains an interview with one of the top recording engineers in Hollywood for more info on the viability of the 6.1 and 7.1 surround formats.

http://www.bryston.ca/newsletters/55_files/vol5is5.html

http://www.bryston.ca/newsletters/64_files/vol6is4.html

hmm... good points... it's just that all the pre/pro manufacturers are currently going 7.1...

maybe i should think about spending the money on better 5.1 than 7.1 for now...

it's hard decision...

I would recomend trying the Outlaw Audio 950 Pre/Pro for $900 plus shipping. I was impress with this unit for the money and you have a 30 day to try it out, if you don't like it you can return it for a full refund. They only sell directly from the web so there is no dealer markup and this is one reason you get more bang for the buck. Check there web site and read the reviews.

I haven't auditioned it but it's got features and within my budget and look pretty good...