Quote Originally Posted by JonW
Yup. Looks to have both straight and pure direct, from my looking at the manual. Only $400-ish. Has preouts. And I'd add an amp to the main speakers for power. So it might be everything I need (for now). But I didn't see anything in the 657 or 2500 manuals about the memory settings you mentioned. I wonder if the 657 has that- it's a lot cheaper than the 2500 and looks to have everything else I may want...

(except a true bypass/pure direct mode with sub usage...)
It's on page 65 of the 2500 manual. Didn't see it on the 657. Here is a chart comparing a few models.

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/compare/YPAO.htm

I know the 4600 has it also. But the amp is so good on the 4600 you may not need another amp to add to this. Although.... I'd love to have a Parasound Halo A21 Two-Channel Amplifier added to my system.

What kind of speakers are you getting? Have you picked those out yet?