Surround Processor better than a Proceed AVP?

Thanks for your responses. I'll look into the older Anthems, but they might not match the Proceed for music? I would definitely consider an AVP2+, but these are not in my price range, right?

What about the Krell Showcase?

Thanks for the info Kennyt. I have an AVP that I bought used a few years ago for a very great price. Recently I've noticed very quiet popping sounds from the center channel and occasional issues that require a power cycle to reset. So I was wondering if I could get something a little newer like the Marantz or Integra or different like the Krell.

Sounds like my options are still slim. I wonder if there are more options if I am willing to give up the multiroom.

db - looks like we both might be waiting for that magic $2k Cary 11a.

Now I am seriously considering the NAD M15, Classe ssp-300, or Cary 11 - most likely the NAD. I have seen all of these for at or just over $1k. Hopefully it will be reliable and I could pair it with a decent blueray player with a 7.1 analog out for <$500. The alternative is to hold out for another year or so and hope to get a good sounding HDMI-audio capable unit for ~$2k (used) which could be paired with any sony/samsung $150 bluray.

Are there no musical pre/pros out there on the used market that lack DTS-MA and TrueHD, but support LPCM over HDMI 1.1? Really too bad that the NAD m15 does not. Looking at my media options (DVD, blueray, DirectTV,...) it seems like there is AC3/DTS which the AVP already supports and then DTS-MA/TrueHD which the NAD M15, Classe ssp-300, Cary 11 do not. I don't see any media with the middle formats (e.g. DTS 24/93) that the NAD M15, Classe ssp-300, Cary 11 have over the AVP and I really don't care that much about DPL2.

thanks again for everyone's responses.