Yep, it looks like a lot of second-hand HD621s will be bought soon to go down what I called earlier the "clumsy" route to get audio into their 861 - especially now that the new Apple TV 4K supports DD+ and Atmos. The newest audio formats seem to have adopted HDMI 2.1 as the necessary replacement for SPDIF and without HDMI 2.1 support natively into the 861, I can't see any other way. If someone has a better idea I would love to know!

It is so much cheaper just to get a HD621 for the audio only then refresh everything I have that is Meridaian - I've been a loyal customer for over 20 years, and am also sad to see the lack of focus on modern audio formats. MInd you, my ears are 20 years older too so I'm not sure I would benefit from having them either... ;-)

Dennis
861v8, 5200, 5200HCSE, 3200, DSW.2, HD621, Vertex2