New Processors passing HD Sound?

Integra and Onkyo are the only ones I know of right now and good luck getting one any time soon. I was waiting for the Integra, but it's been on back log for some time and I can't get my hands on one for at least a few more months.

I wanted HDMI-1.3 and the Audyssey MultEQ and these units have both. Didn't want to wait so I picked up a Integra DTR-7.8 reciever for the time being. I use my Acurus amps, but the Integra is pretty darned good by itself. I was surprised.

I'll probably get the Integra pre down the road, but this will hold me over and I've been extremely happy with it so far. Couldn't ask for much more for HT, but two channel audio is nothing to write home about.

BTW, the Integra line is still built in Japan.

If the Sony has the HD processors built in and 5.1 analog outputs, simply connect the 5.1 analog output to the 5.1 input of any preamp and you will get the HD sound.

Thanks for the responses so far. It looks like Denon has come out with several receivers as well - not sure what I'll get running "pre-out" to my amp.
Px25: That's what I originally thought as well, but the HD signal is ONLY passed thru the HDMI cable. In other words, all you get from 5.1 is 5.1, not HD sound, as it has been explained to me by several pretty prominent engineer-types.

I'm not sure I follow what you're hearing from these engineer-types. The 6-channel discrete out should be just as lossless as the HDMI, with the only difference being that it's being done at the player instead of the processor (after being transcoded to LPCM I'd assume?).

What are they saying the significant difference is?

Hudsonhawk: I'm certainly not an engineer, nor do I pretend to totally understand this. What they told me is that the player will only send HD sound thru the HDMI port, not the 5.1 out. Apparently that's how it is designed, maybe for copy-protection or something similar - I'm not sure - just frustrated. There is an explanatory chart on p. 48 of the s2000es manual, which is viewable on Sony's site (with a little digging) that explains what some of the outputs are. ALthough I don't understand all of it, it seems to confirm that the HDMI is the only source for HD sound from the piece.

Meanwhile, friends are telling me to just be patient, as there will undoubtedly soon be processors coming to market to deal with this situation (as there are already receivers surfacing from Sony, Denon and Onkyo). I guess the next several months, and especially CES in January, will be full of new HD processors as the big players weigh into this new "market" segment.

Thanks again for your responses to this point - additional comments are also welcome (especially if you're a Sony BR engineer).