When the upgrade bug hits, it's hard to contain, but if you are vigilant and patient, you might find great deals on something like the 2500 upon the changing of the guards, as it were, you know, introducing new models, etc.

What surround mode are you referring to that you wish to have improvement on? I ask because when it comes to prologic, let's say for TV watcing, there's only so much improvement any receiver can produce from a matrixed signal. If you're into the various music and cinema dsps, then Yamaha is definitely the master and the higher end models offer more dsps.