EDIT 5/26: There is full documentation online now, located here:
https://docs.sony.com/release/STR-DN850_DN1050_HelpGuide_EN.pdf
OK, got my 1050 yesterday and had it swapped in for my doorstop Onkyo in short order. Initial observations...
Compared to the Onkyo, the documentation is TERRIBLE! The Onkyo manual was overkill for me, seemed VERY technical to a fault, and spoke to somebody far more geeky than the typical home theater enthusiast. The Sony manual OTOH is completely watered down and overly simplified, and short on details. For instance, nothing at ALL showing all the different things that are displayed on the front panel, and their meanings. How can something like that be left out? Just not much detail at all, about anything. The troubleshooting section is way short.. especially compared to the Onkyo section, which was huge and comprehensive.
The auto speaker setup is overly simple and it's hard to believe it's doing much meaningful tweaking. After it was finished (in maybe a minute, tops?) I chose "flat" versus some other confusing, not-well-explained options. Configuring everyone was really simple, but partly because it's not as configurable as my old doorstop was. Not necessarily a bad thing. Any tips here on anything else I should try?
Sound? So far, with zero additional tweaking, it sounds great in my brief tests. I don't seem to be getting much output from my surrounds (which are in-ceiling-mounted) compared to before, which may not be "wrong" based on their positioning to relative to the listening position, or I may just want to tweak some settings eventually. Definitely seems more powerful compared to the old Onkyo (TX-NR717). I run RBH towers up front, an RBH sub, and RBH rounds up in the ceiling - very decent, if not super-high-end, stuff from circa 2006.
One thing I noticed right away - my Onkyo would upscale all video to 1080p if so set (and I did have mine set that way), and the output was fantastic. I see now that through the Sony, my DirecTV source isn't upscaled - much of it is 1080i, and a few channels 720p, and that's how it's coming through, with no settings or mention of upscaling anywhere in the meager Sony docs. Should I care? Picture looks fine, so I'm hardly freaking out.. it's just different. 1080p/24 fps Blu-ray looks absolutely stellar, as it should (BD player is Oppo BDP-93). Apple TV looks great too, at 1080p as provided by the ATV box output. The Oppo will upscale DVDs on its own (and does an incredible job of it too), so the only "loss" here is DirecTV programming. If it's a loss at all.
All in all, so far I"m happy - and not worried that the thing is going to crap out like my last to Onkyo turds. No real reviews online yet, but I suspect we'll see some in short order. Curious to hear how it stacks up compared to the 1040, which was largely loved.. in particular Sound&Vision, which I respect greatly, absolutely gushed over the 1040.