Brosef -- That's consistent with the info we got from Pioneer's Audio Marketing Manager.

Tw88 -- I think it's just stale info on the Pioneer website.

We've got a question in to Pioneer to see if this is a mid-production spec change, or if Anchor Bay has been in the units all along.

Yup -- those links in the post show the receivers came out about 2 months ago. It's either a late "official" announcement of the VRS, or a mid-production spec bump.

Sounds like Audyssey is doing its job, then. Really some of the biggest improvements Audyssy makes is to the bass. Actually, the goal of Audyssey to to more accurately reproduce what the engineer heard -- by removing your room's artifacts. Check out the Audyssey blog for some good info.

Hadn't planned on trying to get one for review. The same post got put on Engadget, you might be able to get some impressions there:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/kef-lands-its-wireless-htb2se-w-subwoofer/

Wireless might be just fine for a sub -- not the most demanding kind of signals.

The tower vs. bookshelf+sub depends on a lot of things. If your AVR has good room EQ, you might be better off using the bookshelves. Audyessey, for example, recommends you set all speakers to "small" if you've got a sub. Also, if you do more movies than music, the bookshelf approach might be better for you. Finally, if you go with bookshelves, don't forget to budget for some stands.

Yeah, it crossed my mind. But Ben "Football" Drawbaugh signed up for the time, so the non-football fan in the group (yours truly) wasn't going to protest!

No doubt, JBL is a tough comparison, and Infinity doesn't really excite audiophiles like it used to. I keep hoping for a return of Infinity -- some of its speakers have sounded pretty good in the (in-store) demos I've had. But, Harman does have Revel. Way expensive, but absolutely top-notch performance.

Good mention of Harman, but did they really invent blind-testing? I know a lot of the Canadian companies picked up on the concept from Canada's NRC back in the day.
Anyways, for anyone interested in the great work being done at Harman, check out:
http://seanolive.blogspot.com/

Definitely pushing audio science forward.

It might be an overused term, but it's true for Paradigm.
As for finite element analysis, you're right -- it's nothing new. What is distinguishing about it, though, is that Paradigm actually has engineers, whereas many (not all) loudspeaker manufacturers don't.

Keep in mind that the 7.1 stuff from Audyssey and Dolby work from the 5.1 soundtrack and don't require discrete channels. Using DSX/DPLIIz processing with a 5.1-ch mix might produce better (more immersive) results than discrete rear surrounds in a 7.1-ch mix.