Oh I forgot, I also owned the Emotiva DMC-1. I would not worry about if there is something better. That depends on the listener. Better also has many variables. When I talk about better, I am only speaking about sound quality as it pertains to 5.1 or 7.1. Not music, not build quality, not features, upgradeability, video switching, etc.... The outlaw 990 is a great theater processor regardless of price.