Conclusion
Who needs a 75-pound receiver? I do, now that I've lived with the Denon AVR-5308CI. Its sound is superb, its video processing is state-of-the-art, and it offers access to just about any source I could dream of. Add to that it's phenomenal flexibility, which meant that it not only did everything I needed, it did everything I could think of.

Yes, it is big, heavy, complicated, and, at $5500, expensive, but those are features more than bugs. Big and heavy because it's so well-built, complicated because it does everything, and expensive because no corners were cut.

Do I recommend it? Unreservedly and enthusiastically. One box to rule them all, indeed.

Highs
Superb sound from 2-channel to 7.1 sources
Extremely flexible configuration
Every input imaginable (7 HDMI!)
LAN compatible

Lows
Non-intuitive interface (although better than many)
Good, but not perfect, auto configuration
Main remote did not fit my ape-like paws