Just learned Sherwood Newcastle's P-965 pre/pro/tuner which is supposed to ship late next month, will have DPL IIx and Dolby Virtual Speaker. Even the first units to ship will have that, so there shouldn't be an upgrade issue anymore.

There's some preliminary information on the P-965 and the R-965 receiver, at the top of the www.sherwoodusa.com page. I'm guessing the P-965 will be by far the least expensive pre/pro or pre/pro/tuner with DPL IIx when it comes out.

This may encourage Rotel and Outlaw to offer DPL IIx sooner rather than later, either as an upgrade to their existing lineup or in a new model, in order to stay competitive with the changes in technology over the last 18+ months.

Still, no announcement yet from Rotel or Outlaw, as far as I know...

Best,

Will