PM, apparently nobody has any experience with the 7000, so I took a quick look. I assume that you're thinking about the $598 plus shipping refurb. Sure, it has basic surround capability and will do DD and DTS from DVDs and it has Logic7 to extract the ambience in two channel materials and send it to the surrounds where it belongs. I don't follow your emphasis on the digital optical input unless you're going to be using a player that doesn't have a coaxial digital output(which most users prefer slightly since it's more rugged). My own view would be to get a new HK 635 for just slightly more, with its auto setup, auto equalization, DPLIIx, etc. It has plenty of power for nearly all setups and the slightly higher power rating on the 7000 amounts to only about 1dB on a peak, which isn't significant.
