I have no idea what the price is and I hope I am not giving M any ideas. I feel very strongly that I would like the AC12 to be more affordable but I suspect this is a place that M knows it can pick up some money. As it is I cannot use the V6 without the AC12s. Each AC12 does 2 channels + coms. Yes Ronnie you hit the nail on the head. Though I do not believe we will suffer perceptible sound quality loss, it is not quite as elegant as say that SPDIF output card you refer to. I suspect all the old cards will not work. It really seems the 861 is a new processor. My wires run through my floor (we wanted as few protrusions in my walls as possible) and rewiring is possible but it would be hideously expensive and not worth it IMHO.

Best regards,
Jerry
Main System: 861v6, DSP8000s in corners, DSP7000s Center and Sides, 1-9 humans.