That's a might impressive list. There are some good suggestions in there, as well as some features that already exist in Outlaw's line and need to be retained. Some of it I really like, but to get the whole list would drive the price up beyond what most of us could hope to afford - making the features that do appeal to me inaccessible. A few thoughts...

I like the input quantity - certainly 4, maybe 6. Two outputs would be good for folks with a projector and a second HD display, which may be a decent sized markets as HDTV's drop in price. But is there even going to be an "or better" beyond v1.3 any time in the forseeable future? We knew that v1.3 was coming a couple years in advance, and there's no specific discussion of anything to follow it.

I agree. It would seem that Pro Logic IIx would suffice for this, though, and Outlaw already supports PLIIx with DTS 5.1 on both the 990 and the 1070/970, even though it's not a required capability for PLIIx processors.

If I understand your request, this has been possible with every Outlaw processors since (and including) the 950. I think the 1050 even did it, actually, although the processing options weren't as complex then. If I have a processor that can't remember that I prefer PLIIx on top of Dolby 2.0 and PCM for my cable and DVd sources but want straight stereo for them on my CD input, I'm not going to be a happy camper.

This is an interesting idea, but you are talking about greatly limiting the options for DAC's (or even requiring an extra set, perhaps) for a single format when there are strong arguments made suggesting that DSD-to-PCM conversion isn't really detrimental. This is one that I think starts pushing the price away from Outlaw's main customer base.

What's wrong with simply using a blank screen and a standard resolution for providing OSD via HDMI? Maybe 480p since all DVI and HDMI displays will accept it and it'd be easier to generate. Unless there's a high-end scaler with a chip like Gennum or Realta behind it, I'd rather my digital video sources (DVI/HDMI) simply get passed through without any alteration, and if I can get my OSD setup menu by replacing that signal with a blank screen I'd be content.

Those four extra sub outputs seem like pure overkill to me. An option for stereo subs would be cool and would see a fair bit of use, but anything beyond that is pushing the price tag up rapidly while adding features that users will never even touch.

A totally new output with special controls? For a device that most owners will never use and some have never even heard of? Seems like overkill. Maybe a standalone module could be offered that tied into an extra subwoofer output (or even went inline with the subwoofer output, like the SMS-1 does). That way, the folks who wanted this adjustment could have it and the rest of us didn't have to pay for it.

I don't think there's any point going beyond the quad crossovers of the 990 and 1070/970. If you need different crossovers for your left and right channels, then there are big problems somewhere in the system.

I am excited about the idea of not needing multichannel analog in my next processor (what with players like OPPO's 981HD offering HDMI support for both DVD-A and SACD), but I think Outlaw should wait another generation before retiring multichannel analog inputs. The new HD-DVD and Blu-ray players will all work just fine with HDMI, but folks still have some very nice DVD-A/SACD players that need those multichannel analog inputs. Eventually, yes, but not yet.

Eh... I like having a radio, and my 990's tuner hasn't given me any grief so somebody has clearly found a way to deal with the possible interference. They could even simply yank power away from the tuner entirely when it wasn't in use by either the main or second zone if they wanted to really play it safe.

Nice idea - but this is one of those features that starts to do unpleasant things to the price point. Outlaw's primary customer base can't (or can but doesn't want to) afford this level of over-engineering.

Historically, a true modular design tends to lead to price tags starting upward of $4000 (often well). That's nearly four times the price of the 990, without even considering some of the fairly extreme options already proposed (five independent sub outputs, tactile transducer output, DSD DAC's, ...).