^Hi. No, not crazy. But perhaps this is not the best bang-for-the-buck for your HT dollars. I recently went through that upgrade decision from my 4310. Here's my thoughts. Though I looked seriously at the attractive-looking7005, there's no way I'd buy a unit without MultEQXT32, which is a significant advance in DSP. In fact,
MultEQXT32has just been named Stereophile Mag "Accessory of the Year 2011"! That Kal Rubinson and I think alike.
I had one other feature requirement for my new unit, that it be Audyssey Pro-ready. So I considered this venerable Denon flagship AVR. I also thought about the flagship pre/pro, but then I'd need to buy a couple more external amp channels to supplement my Emo XPA5 if I want to maintain my DSX wides. But I hesitated. In addition to the steep buy-in, there's the added hassle and expense of the upgrade to get XT32. And, as you are aware, these models are now being discontinued. And so, having invested that much into a discontinued model, I'd be unlikely to get much return on investment when I want to upgrade. After all, technology changes fast in HT!
So what to do? I considered the Onkyo pre/pro SC 5508 and new model -09 that reportedly have great SQ, as do the more expensive Integra sister models. Again I'd have to buy another ext amp as their AVRs are not Pro-ready. But for me, the greatest value turned out to be the Denon AVR4311, usually available new from authorized dealers for around $1.5K. I happened on a deal on the sister model Denon 100th Anniv version, the A100. The $ I saved I put towards an Audyssey Pro kit (these are really cool), a Denon-Link (another cool technology) BDP A100 universal/BRP and a second matching Velodyne DD10 sub to smooth out the bass. I'm very very happy with the HT makeover and SQ improvements.
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