Harman Kardon AVR 354 opinions and experiences?

While saving for a new reciever I had pretty much ruled out HK because all of their current models had at least one, sometimes more dealbreakers, so even though I have wanted to try out the almost legendary alchemy between Ascends and HK recievers, I crossed them off of the prospect list. Then I read about their announcement of some new models, the 154, 254, and the 354. The biggest dealbreaker is now gone, all of the new models have 3 HDMI 1.3A inputs. Don't know if any of them have upconversion of analog video inputs to HDMI or if they offer DSD over HDMI which were some of the other lacks I found in the previous models, but neither of these would be true dealbreakers for me.

I am mostly looking at the 354 mostly because it would give my Sierra frontstage more power, but the 254 might actually end up working for me just as well. The reason for the thread is to ask if anyone has encountered the new HKs, particularly the 354 as of yet. Several of the blogs and articles I read about the new models stated that the 254 and 354 were already available, but Amazon's listing says it should ship within 1-2 months, so I am not sure if it or the 254 are actually out. So, if it is out, any opinions, comments, information about it from those that have picked one up or checked one out would be greatly appreciated. If it is not yet out, any opinions, discussions, thoughts, more detailled feature info, etc would also be greatly appreciated. I had been looking at some of Pioneer's new models that are pending in the next couple of months, Onkyo's X05 and upcoming X06 models ranging from the 605/6 to the 805/6 levels, Yamaha's new models in that range, I think they are the 663 to the 863, and as an old time Denon junkie I have been eyeing the new models that Denon has recently announced that have increased their number of HDMI inputs through the various price levels.

I would really like 4 or more HDMI inputs for futureproofing, but the availabillity of switches that handle HDCP better than the first gen one I have minimizes that as an issue. As I said previously, I would like to be able to try DSD over HDMI with my Oppo 980, but reviews such as Cal R's in his 'Music In The Round' column lead me to believe that it really does not make as big a difference as many had thought and that it might actually not sound as good as PCM over HDMI. Add to that that I am considering going to the new 983 from Oppo because it handles PAL and troublesome animation better and even my level of vision can sometimes perceive the issues with problem material. The transcoding/upconversion to HDMI would be nice, but again wouldn't be a dealbreaker since I have plenty of cabling around if still needed.

All of the new models have 3 HDMI inputs, the 254 and up has OSD over HDMI, and the 354 adds a third component input and I think an extra optical input for 3 of each. They are sticking with Faroudja for their upconversion, but that would only pertain in my case to my still non HD Dish reciever, my LD player, and my trusty old VCR if I ever decide to hook it back up. The 354 comes with their new iPod cradle which is of no use to me until Apple starts making use of the new screen reading technology they recently patented. Until then I am sticking to my Creative screenless players.

The 254 and 354 both include HK's latest auto setup, though I don't know if it is equal to the setup in the 645 and 745 models and I don't think any auto setup is included in the 154, though I may be incorrect about that. I expect that the amp section will be up to HK's well known high standards. I believe that the 354's power is 75 watts per channel for 7.1 channel, and given HK's policy of accurate listing of their amps power levels in real world conditions that is very impressive. Oh, that reminds me for anyone looking at the 154, one of its other limitations is that it is 5.1 only, and I do not recall if it handles all of the new audio formats which both the 254 and 354 do.

Anyway, that is what I have gathered about the new reciever and its fellows so far. Feel free to correct any errors I have made, fill in any gaps, and don't feel limited from talking about the other new models and comparisons of them to each other and the other, older models in HK's lineup as well as discussion of comparisons with other brands new and recent models in the same price/quality range.

Chris