Hi John,

I ended up with a Cary Cinema 11. Not the 11a (which is still only talked about). The 11 has zero video processing, and does not accept HDMI for audio. You must couple the 11 with the 11v (v for video) to get video and HDMI processing. I'm not sure the 11v is out yet either. The much awaited 11a will have HDMI inputs for audio.

I really like the Cinema 11 for its simplicity and its sound. I'm also waiting for a FW upgrade from Cary for the 11, which I believe will allow different settings for different inputs or audio modes.

I recently considered the Integra DTC-9.8, but decided that I absolutely did not want the technical headaches that come along with that newer technology (and I'm pretty technical). I really don't need all the bells and whistles, and really I don't even need the HDMI audio processing. I mean, it'd be great and all, but I've had more than enough problems just getting HDMI to play nicely between my PC and TV.

I'll get around to getting HDMI someday, but for now, I'm going to stick with the Cinema 11. I'm sure they're available on AudiogoN, and probably for a reasonable price ($1,500 maybe?, and I guess "reasonable price" is all relative) due to the anticipation of the 11a coming out.

It's too bad that Outlaw hasn't been able to fix these bass management/bypass issues. I don't see any reason for it to take a year (unless there's an insurmountable ASIC issue), and I'm sure they've lost at least a few customers because of it. They're great when it comes to swapping out a dead or blatantly malfunctioning unit, but when it comes to resolving bona fide device issues, they fall short. To be fair, I think Cary is taking too long in releasing their FW for the Cinema 11 as well, but I believe they are waiting for the release of the 11a (which will use the same FW), and that 11a is delayed due to hardware supply issues from Cirrus Logic (as are all other Cirrus customers). That's what I've read elsewhere, anyway.

Have a good day.