i think that MANY more people value dvi switching over firewire. and IF the world has settled on hdmi, wouldnt firewire become obsolete anyway? if you were going to argue this case, you should argue for hdmi which will carry everything (hdmi now with upgradeablitity).

when that onkyo came out, i thought it was an excellent concept, but ahead of its time. i dont think it is too unrealistic to see audio gear sold like computers and able to be upgraded that way. the only reason why it might not happen is because consumers pay a huge premium for audio equipment now, and would probably end of paying a lot less if their products got modularized. all of these traditional audio companies wont want to cut their margins so drastically like the pc market has now.

i mean, if you think about what the sum of the parts in an audio product cost and its price, it is absurd. considering that most companies now a days do little engineering and mostly adapt what the chipmakers make to their specific needs, it is even worse of a rip off. there is basically no alternative though (outlaw being one...). then again, almost everyone has at least one computer in their house, while not nearly every person has an audio system. not many manufacturers want to go for quantity at low prices unless they have to.