Curious on anyones input on this. I maintain, and will be happy to be proven wrong here, that in terms of actual sound listening quality which I define as music, DVD 5.1 sound or better & TV digital sound 5.1 or better that one hears through the human ear as opposed to a techincal reading, that there has been no actual sound quality improvement in name receivers such as Denon & Yamaha, in the past 5 years. Please note, I am not referring to wear or tear & parts lasting longer but just sound listening quality. I do not consider new features such as being able to set volume controls through an attached mike, sound settings such as "concert", "stadium", "club", being able to play 2 systems through your receiver, etc. improvements in sound quality per se. If anyone feels differently feel free to post here.

Conversely, has sound quality improved in cheaper lower end brands?

I'm basically asking this because someone made the point of saying a few months ago that higher end receivers such as Denon that went for $1200 5 years ago may not sound better then $300 no name receivers manufactured today. I don't agree but I'm curious what other people think.