I am upgrading from a Pioneer 811. I brought home a Sony 2000ES. I like it but don't love it. I guess the digital sound is a little too flat for my ears. I was thinking about trying the 1000ES, since it's analog, it lacks some extra features of the 2000ES which I don't care for (dual zone, on screen menu) and cost a little less. My other options would be the Onkyo 502 or the Yamaha HTR5750 (the only ones that are less than 6 1/2 in height and fit my cabinet). Any thoughts?
If you need a small but nice sounding unit, you should check the new Cambridge Audio 540R and the NAD T742/T743/T752. They're a couple steps in front of Yamaha, Onkyo and Sony in terms of sound quality, and quite small in size.