Yes I have found the same thing BlueJays. I looked at the HK units last night but they are just more expensive when looking at the same features on different brands. I pulled the trigger on the Pio Elite VSX-33 this morning, I think it should be a good step up from my entry level 2008 Yamaha Can't wait to get it set up and play with it!

Funny, back when I bought my H/K, it was definitely more bang for the buck than other brands. Especially Denon.

Make sure you run MCACC after you get it. I put the mic in the center of the room at seated ear level using a tripod.

Oh I will, my Yamaha has YPAO so I'm used to using auto calibration. I find it works wonders.

I found the standing wave correction from MCACC to make the most positive difference in my room. Used the 3 measurement point method across my 3 seater couch. The person sitting in the 4th single seater near the wall loses out! (I never sit there)

I have both VSX32 and VSX33, the VSX-33 is great because of the dual HDMI output. I also have the bluetooth adapter, so you can use the receiver as a sound card on the computer.

I also use both to stream internet radio. Pioneer also provide an iphone app to control the receivers.

The sound is great but I don't use the internal amps in the VSX-33, I have two emotiva power amps connected to it.

Yeah the connectivity on the VSX-33 seems very good. I want to hook up an Emotiva amp some time down the road, have you used it with the internal amp at all? Mine will be here tomorrow so I'll get to hear it then, just excited for the upgrade over this old budget Yamaha I've got