Doesn't matter. Outlaw is going to have to compete in the marketplace against 9.2 and 11.2 gear. In this day and age, limiting a pre-pro to 7.1 is a quick way to be taken off the consideration list by potential customers. Consumer 7.1 pre-pros were selling 24 years ago; discrete 7.1 content came out only 4 years ago. One has no bearing on the other.

Whether it it is 7.1, 9.1 or 11.1 or whatever, the concept of adding additional channels to the existing program is really nothing new in that Yamaha has been offering it in their particular technology(DSP) for several years now. Whether it is Yamaha's DSP, Audyssey DSX, DPLllX, Neo 6 or others, it is all essentially designed to expand the soundstage of the original program content by giving one the option of adding more speakers to take advantage of the technology. Of course, there will always be a significant group that don't have the room for the extra speakers or particularly care about the extra channels which usually aren't part of the mix anyway.

I personally like what the new Marantz Pre-Pro and the latest rendition of Yamaha AVRs are offering in the way of still having models that are basically 7.1 but giving one the option of adding the additional amps to expand things further, all done, in either case, without having to sacrifice performance and empty one's pocketbook.

So my question still remains. Will the 998 offer 7.1, 9.2 or 11.2? Will outlaw throw us a bone?

Good question. I can't help but keep thinking that given the maturity of this technology now and the competition Outlaw is facing in the marketplace especially those companies offering a consistently "bigger bang for the buck", honestly, unless the unit is pretty up-to-date, feature laden and offered at a very competitive price, I am not sure the so-called "audiophile" approach to marketing it will be enough, even for the most die-hard Outlaw fans. Who would have thought, even a couple of years ago, that Marantz would be offering a top-of-the-line Pre-Pro for under $1500?

Realistically, there has been a considerable amount of water that has "gone under the bridge" technology wise since the 990, the announcement of the 997 and its ultimate cancellation up until today where we still have yet to see a replacement. I hope, whatever it turns out to be and for Outlaw's sake, it is worth the wait.

The AV7005 has pre-outs for 11.1, but only an eight-channel DAC. This means that you can connect up to eleven channels of amplification and even configure eleven speakers, but you have to decide which seven you will use at any given time. If using PLIIz processing, the rear surrounds will be disabled and the wide speakers will of course not be used (not supported by PLIIz). If using DSX-Height, the rear surrounds and wide speakers will be disabled. If using DSX-Wide, the rear surrounds and height speakers will be disabled.


We'll probably have to wait a little longer to know for either unit. We'll probably know about the 978 first, since it's going to be released first.

I actually just assumed the 978 would be 7.1, but I guess I shouldn't assume anything. Looking forward to any news on these units.

It would make some sense to let the 978 be 7.1 no matter what ends up happening with the 998. That places the 978 in direct competition with the AV7005 (7.1 DAC's and Audyssey) - the 978 would have a few less features (mostly related to network functions) but could have a better analog section and will likely have either the same or a better Audyssey suite. Plus if the 998 did end up with any extra DAC channels (probably just 9.1 at most for PLIIz support), it would offer a little extra differentiation between the two models.

The one thing that is curious about the 9.1 and 11.1 DAC support is the lack of single-chip DAC solutions for it. Manufacturers have largely settled into using these eight-channel DAC chips for both players and receivers, but to go beyond that they have to pair them with separate stereo DAC's. It can be done, of course - just as was once done when pairing six-channel DACs with stereo DACs for 7.1 support in both receivers and some players - but the scarcity of homes that will actually have nine or eleven speakers connected has probably helped companies justify leaving the extra hardware out.

Well I wouldn't install 7.1 channels if there wasn't equipment that could utilize them, so that doesn't seem completely logical to me. I seem to think people would buy additional speakers once the technology is there to support it. Of course it takes time, especially if you have a built in system.

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.

I wonder how many buyers of receivers or prepros are aware that the number of channels actually available is limited by the number of DACs included and not the total number combining extra heigth, width, and rear surrounds.

Programs to extract extra channels have been around for a long time. Yamaha pioneered the idea starting with the DSP-1 probably 15 years ago, which extracted 4 additional channels (a pair of front high and wide, and a pair of rear high and wide) from a stereo source.