I really wish the Onkyo's had the option of 11.1. They seem to be much better constructed than the 4311. I really hope we see something interesting at CES this year. I was very close to buying the 3008 a couple of different times but was afraid of buyers remorse. While I'm pretty sure the back surrounds don't add much, I'd rather just have them anyway.
Yea, me too. What's really strange about the Onkyo is there are speaker terminals on the back for 11 speakers. Plus the manual even list an 11 speaker layout. There are some rumors that Onkyo will address this issue in a firmware update, where you can add an external amp and use the surround back pre-out to get you to an 11.1 layout, (similar to the 4311).
But I have to agree with you, you already have the amp, so you have to go with the 11.1 capabilities of the Denon. This way, you won't have buyers remorse down the road...always asking yourself, what if?
They always come out with something better every year (for the most part) so yea, CES will be interesting.
Dana
