Wow! Great feedback. Still digesting most of it . It's interesting, there seems to be two perspectives. One implies that there is perhaps greater musical experience beyond the $1500-1800 price range, while the other implies that there is little to be gained in musical experience (and indeed there seems to be a decrease in controller "extras" such as HD/XM,Internet radio, HDMI switching, etc.). Recently, I've been reading a research article on psychoacoustics and blinded listeners' preference for loudspeakers. Would anybody know a link to similar research comparing controllers and amplifiers?