How important is A-Bus on a Receiver?

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I am looking to purchase a new receiver. i have looked at Pioneer
Elite, Denon, HK, some others. Some offer A-Bus, some don't. How
important is this feature? Should I be more interested in the iLink
on Pioneer, than the A-Bus on Denon? Are either of these expected to
be standards in the future? Should either of these weight in my
decision at all?

Thanks for any input and guidence.

Matt