Surround Processor better than a Proceed AVP?

I have had 2 AVP 700, great sound, especially the built-in DAC. But I question the reliability, you may want to reconsider, btw they run very warm-hot.
Unfortunately the first started to buzz in 1 channel growing louder & louder, then thru all 5.1 channels. A tech told me it was the computer processing unit commonly shared with an Onkyo AV/p that was the problem, but no longer available thru Arcam. Said it was fixed but it had more switching & noise problems afterward. Purchased a second (used, 3+ yrs old) one and the same thing started to happen in about 6 months. Then an electrical surge put the last nail in.
An Arcam staffer described the units complexity similar to today's laptops. "High performance, but built w so many computer type parts", "you cant expect them to last like audio of years gone by, after 3-4 years you figure its time to through it away" (my paraph)

Wow! I reread this stream and it was difficult to recall the setup I used when I wrote my posts. I still have a Proceed PAV/PDSD pair that I haven't been using.

Now processing is by an Oppo BDP-105. The stereo preamp is a Parasound JC-2 BP. The amps are Proceed HPA 2 & 3. I recently bought a Cary Cinema 11a that takes HDMI from the Oppo and a Sony XA5400ES for surround. Stereo from the Cary is passed through the JC-2 BP; surround goes directly to the amps. Before the Cary, surround from the Oppo went directly to the amps, stereo through the JC-2 BP.

The stereo sources are an Ayre C-5xeMP and Thorens TD124/SME III/Ortofon through a JC-3 phono stage. The mains are a pair of KEF Reference 107/2s with 102 surrounds. A pair of Velodyne HGS-15s managed by an SMS-1 provide LF supplement for HT.

db

I just read this whole thread... Long live the Proceed AVP! LOL