If you plan to ever do high resolution multichannel surround sound with SACD or DVD-Audio, you must have analog pass through. In the future, we may get an IEEE 1394 (Firewire) connection for these purposes, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Analog Pass Thru
Is analog pass thru important on a high quality a/v processor? I am looking to upgrade from a Citation 5.0 with analog pass thru to a higher quality unit. I was thinking about a Meridian 568 which does not have analog pass thru. Does anyone have any experience with the Meridian 568 in regards to listening to vinyl? My system is used 50% music(analog & digital) and 50% video (dvd).