I stuck with Onkyo even after my previous Onkyo failed, mainly because of the feature set, and I knew I would be getting a new receiver in a couple of years, anyway, after the new surround formats and Ultra HD are worked out in the consumer test bed. I bought a previous-generation model, however, since the current generation seems to really makes you pay if you want the option of decent EQ. Not that I'm married to Audyssey, since I haven't even turned it on since getting the LFR1100s. I did need pre outs, however, and the model I ended up with seemed like the sweet spot.
In any case, original poster, I think you're going to be hard-pressed to do any future-proofing at $400. The timing simply isn't ideal right now. I'd just try to find something that performs well with established formats.
