Anthem AVM 20 or Integra DTC 9.8

You need to be more specific about your uses. The AVM20 is an old(er) unit with good sound but it lacks the newest facilities, such as roomEQ and new codecs. The Integra has all that and its performance with digital sources is very good but its analog inputs are not that great.

Kal

I have the AVM20. I can't hear if the DAC's are in or out of the loop. If you feed
it Toslink then it is fine for movies and good for music although you may get
some audible jitter depending on your setup. I found it benefited from a Power
Conditioner (the only item I have that does -so certainly not a world class power
supply in it).

It does not have auto room EQ but comes with three programmable notch filters
which can be adjusted using a test CD and RS meter. The biggest advantage of
the
AVM20 is flexibility (a huge number of inputs and outputs and extremely
sophisticated programmable input gains and paths for every input - separate
music and cinema configs and excellent quality volume control). Of course it
does not handle all the codecs but if you get the V2 upgrade it covers most
what you'll come across)

My sources are analog (SACD) and digital (CD) output from a Sony DVP-S9000ES in a video-off mode, analog output from a CIA phono stage (Throrens TD 160 II, SME Series III, Ortofon SME 30H), digital output from a PS3-80, and digital output from a Direct TV HD/DVR. The pre/pro feeds Proceed Amp-2 and Amp-3 amps and a Velodyne SMS-1 (LF room correction) via XLR lines. Speakers are KEF 104/2, 200C, and 102/2 surrounds, all biwired. Sub is Velodyne HGS-15. The SMS-1 seems able to handle room correction below 80 Hz well. Video switching is via an HDMI box. Except for the amps, power is through a Monster Power Center HTS 2500.

We use this system for some TV programs, all films, and all music. Music taste tends toward small classic and baroque (e.g. Bach, Corelli) and jazz (e.g. Evans, Coltrane) groups, with the occasional big orchestra piece (e.g. Mahler).

Cary Cinema 11a, although likely more expensive used, is also on my list, but I really hope the PAV can be repaired at reasonable cost.

db

I also have Benchmark DAC1 which I prefer for music. The AVM20 is fine for analog music but I do detect a slight improvement on a digital input using the DAC1. So the AVM is perhaps "adequate" at jitter rejection (good enough for TV and movies ) but not as good as a dedicated DAC for critical listening to music.

I can't comment on the other pre processors but I have read that the Anthem D1 or D2 is more likely to be more competitive with a separate dedicated DAC....of course the price on a D2 is in another league.

Home theater SOTA is HDMI 1.3, 1080p and 5 or 7.1 using one of the lossless formats on bluray discs - as well as Audyssey MultiEQ.

The standards look like they will hold for a few years - if only because the software industry (ie the studios) have not even begun to take advantage of what is already possible and are unlikely to invest in supporting even newer standards in the immediate future. (For context, there is still considerable debate about consumer bluray adoption versus DVDs)

Audyssey is a third party program sold to OEMs. It will continue to evolve by adding new features since that is the core of its business model. However what is already there is very, very good. Don't believe me, read Stereophile.

The Integra 9.8 does all of this very, very well. The GUI is consistent and is a piece of cake which cannot be said about a lot of its competitors. My new test is to download the owners manuals to compare what is involved in doing various tasks. Try it and see if you like it...

The Integra will easily handle your DirectTV with audio follows video switching rather then mucking about with a bunch of boxes. It will gracefully do this with all of your sources.

It's sub handling (LFE) is very flexible.

It's got inputs up the ying yang though all I use is HDMI - I can't imagine ever going back to anything else in a HT setting

There are no doubt better preamps for turntables and other analog sources. What do you want for a grand...

Seems to me you have to balance your current needs with where you plan to go from here. I would guess that the Anthem represents the near past in technology - I had their PVA-7 amp and they make great stuff. I also (still) have the Integra - and I see myself keeping it a good long while.