I'm not talking about compatible equipment - I'm talking about the percent of the population that is actually going to put nine speakers in their rooms. Maybe people will have an easier time adding height channels compared to DSX's wide channels or back surrounds, but if they didn't put in back surrounds they won't care that they only have an eight-channel DAC. And if they did put in back surrounds, speaker installation fatigue (SIF - an acronym that I just conjured up) or spouse acceptance factor may prevent them from adding heights. (In my case, both SIF and SAF make installation of height channels unlikely.)

Considering how few people went for seven, it's easy for companies (especially the big guys who cater to a really broad market) to justify not supporting nine simultaneous channels of output. What it means for Outlaw, on the other hand, we just don't know yet.