trouble finding audio only DSP.


I feel like I may be looking at the wrong search.. everything listed under HT> processor seems to have video. and video obsoletes soooo fast. look around, tons of great stuff without HDMI. my needs are dolby dts (5.1 or 7.1) from the cable box/dvd/br coax or toslink . I will feed the pre-out into lots of 2 channel amps (ie: a 60W adcom or rotel is plenty for a center or surround in a living room, right? sure blows away any sub $1500 receiver's 700W at .9%THD spec'd output.

seems like 5 or 6 years ago, someone made 1 or 2u (without the opamps, no need for bulky heatsinks, caps and transformers) sony, yamaha, technics, marantz.... now they make 1000W receivers, for $199...hmmm.

can anyone help me find a comparable brand to NAD/Adcom/rotel/arcam/mcintosh/lexicon... that will be reliable and do sound only. I only have two video sources...the bluray player can do network/dvd/bluray, and the cable/satellite box, the TV can handle 3. I do not need video switch,

I would like to thank the responders to my last post, who pointed out that the HDMI from my TV back to audio processor would likely be 2ch... bummer b/c it lip synced nicely (coax to DAC out to 2ch was ahead of TV ...)

but the overall recommendation was buy a receiver and use its pre outs... denon, onkyo, pioneer. I already have the equiv- a marantz SR7400. A/B this with a circa 1985 NAD (or rotel, adcom) rated 40W- 60W amp and you know my issue. not to mention, it is twice the size and runs hot.

I gave up trying to use my stereo system for HT because of the layout of my Living room (fireplace is center, B&W 2ch towers flank the mantle, but 42" TV is a corner) instead, I plan to use bookshelf with 8" drivers for L&R and a nice center, and share a powered sub between systems.

I just need a surround processor... and everything here seems to be video.

Thanks for your opinions,
bdevil
The Meridian G68 comes in an audio-only version. I own one and am quite happy with the sound quality.
I ran into the same issue as you looking for a high performance audio only processor and for the same reasons, but it was too hard to find one I liked since most new models include it regardless, so I just settled for one with the video included but will just bi-pass it.
You should consider a piece like the Sony EP9ES digital pre-amp/processor from the late '90's.. Excellent performance on decoding Dolby Digital 5.1, comprehensive bass management, volume control to allow connection directly to power amps should you choose, no video switching, and excellent build quality.

Note: this unit will not decode DTS. However, you won't get DTS from satellite/cable/broadcasts so it's unnecessary for any program from that source. For DTS and the new lossless codecs you can daisy-chain your DVD/Blu-ray player with multichannel analog outs (OPPO BDP-83, for example) through the Sony's 5.1 analog bypass input to let you get into lossless without HDMI.