Had a weird problem with the HK AVR 7300 and it got me thinking about taking the system further towards component level gear.

I'm guessing it would basically be a preamp/switched control center, HDMI/ Optical/Component/etc. ins and outs, perhaps with all the usual DVD decoding functionality (DTS/DD etc).

Seems like the real gain would be going to standalone Amps, but I'd imagine there are other gains implicit in this.
I'm guessing its another step away from mass market gear -

Thoughts comments, brand loyalties?