Tom, people have been asking Denon for years to come out with a separate processor to no avail. Methinks margins are higher on receivers since processors can be matched with any other company's amp. But with Onkyo's new processor making such a splash at that low price point (see the excellent Secrets review) I believe its only a matter of time before Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer, Marantz and others come out with their own prepros.

That article has a brief discussion of the advantages of processors over receivers sound quality but the part on THD or IMD is not significant between the Integra receivers and the 9.8. The main difference comes from the removal of heat and RF near the audio circuitry and the use of an amp with better rise time, slew rate, damping factor, bigger capacitors and more power. I've never owned Denons however I've used my H/K receiver as a processor on occasion. I did notice an improvement in dynamics and resolution with the bigger outboard amp, in this case the Outlaw 770.

That Integra 9,8 combined with the A1400-8 has me salivating.

John