With Dolby Atmos slowly becoming a thing, I would really like outlaw to come up with a budget friendly, thin (2 inches?), 9 channel amplifier that can be matched with a 5.x.4 atmos processor. One Atmos reviewer I hear says he was not completely satisfied with 5.x.2 and required the additional 2 speakers to feel immersed. Furthermore, I see plenty of 7 channel systems out there which are great for a 7.x.0 system, but I always see another $600 pricetag because I need one more amplifier to boost me to 9 respectable atmos (5.x.4).

Emotiva has a good idea providing the Emersa line (eta this summer), but they say they are postponing(since early last year) their Dirac live capable processor until Atmos is included. If some of the atmos reviewers are accurate, and atmos really needs 4 channels for immersion, then the Emotiva Emersa processor (7.1) is already outdated by the time it comes out. Outlaw can beat the "Audiophile equipment for the rest of us" idea if they came out with a decent, budget friendly, 9 channel, and thin amplifier.

Sadly, this item should have already been put out by at least one company by now, and I will already have bought my amplifiers for the next 10+ years by the time this idea comes to fruition.

With several different versions of seven and five channel amps over the years along with the slim model 2200 I don't see a need for a small company like Outlaw to make a 9 channel amp. Two model 5000s or a 7140 with two M2200s should be more than enough. Remember too that having a 9 channel amp with all the same channel outputs is kind of a waste on the surround channels. I would rather see them build a hybrid amp with 3 300w channels and 4 100 watt channels.

I think a solid four channel amp might be a good addition for people moving to Atmos. If I ever get the chance to add it, that's what I'll need and I think anyone already running a 5.x or 7.x would only need the extra for the Atmos overhead channels. I haven't really looked but it seems like it would be an odd number prior to the advent of the object processing formats. I suppose one could just use a five channel amp and have an installed spare, but a four channel could be marketed as an Atmos Amp or something. They could maybe even include accessories to bi-amp the outputs in pairs for folks that want strong two channel performance instead. That would allow it to serve two comparatively smaller markets with one product.

Creating and building the 4 channel amp would present a large investment of time and resources for what might be a very limited customer base. You could always go with the monoblocks or 2 stereo amps but I would think a model 5000 would be the best choice. Having that installed spare channel will be a godsend after the warranty is up. I currently have 12 channels of amp but only use 7 to power both systems. If I ever move to Atmos/DTSx systems I have what I need plus a spare channel.

Two Model 5000 while is said to be the quality budget amplifier, is HUGE at 12" (not even including 4" of space needed for cooling) and does not work for the "Audiophile equipment for the rest of us" mentality. At $1300 after shipping, it is a bit much.

A 7140 with 2 2200s costs $1,839 - also not budget friendly. Not even including a needed 6 inches of total cooling between these, you are now looking at 10" tall amps.

As someone trying to save money AND space, emotiva's a-700 and an a-500 STILL require about 10" if you have 2" of space between them, but the price is now affordable at $1k after shipping costs. Sure, they don't put out as much power as outlaw, but the space savings is nice.

I like outlaw. I think they have really good products and I'm looking forward to their newer receivers. If anyone can beat Emotiva - it's Outlaw. However, I still think that a 9 channel 3" high amplifier costing under $1k from outlaw will fill a huge niche for people like me wanting a small affordable system.

I DO think a nice 3 channel 300w amp would be nice though - as I can always run my sides and atmos on a separate amp.

You will have to choose between space savings and money savings as there is no such animal currently with 9 channels and only 3 inches high. Outlaws amps are built by ATI for them and use torroidal transformers which generate a lot of heat and cannot be fit into that small of package without some sort of heat removal device. Perhaps you could find a digital amp with multichannel which might fit your height desires. Emotiva builds a 7 channel amp with only 4 inches high but it also only puts out 80 wpc at .1% distortion. Spend some of that hard earned cash and get two quality amps that you will not have to replace in a few years because they are work horses. Amplifier technology is going to be stable for the duration even if other tech changes a lot, because we will always have speakers and they will always need power.