I have no idea what the 861v9 will bring (though I'd be surprised if 3D audio was not included in some form, probably with another external box).

However, sadly, I would point out that, as good as my 818v3 is, it currently has no room correction, has a streaming card which is still apparently limited to 96k, and a USB input which is apparently limited to 192k. The USB limitations don't affect me, and I'm working around the room correction issue for now, but the 96k limit on the ID41 is a problem: I have to stream my 4x material to the 818's USB input from Roon via a Squeezebox Touch with EDO plugin. I note with continued astonishment that Sooloos cannot do this yet, and even if Sooloos gets technology to stream 4x material to the ID41, I'll never go back to it; Sooloos is antiquated technology.

As for "niche", if you can't deliver niche in an £12,500 piece of kit, then you have a problem... At that price, it should "just do everything", including multi-channel audio from any source.

Roon Developer and ex-moderator of this Forum
I am #25 in the HH1 photo of fame.