Hey,
That's a tough one. The main reason are the built in 5.1 processing. It means you can do all sorts of interesting things with it. Also, there were crazy mods that eliminated the built -in multi-channel DAC's and added a coaxial digital out for each pair of channels, allowing you to run any DAC you wanted, if you had 4 of them.
I am getting out of that space, but just sold a 7.1 preamp, the Halo P7 to a user exactly like that.
That's a tough one. The main reason are the built in 5.1 processing. It means you can do all sorts of interesting things with it. Also, there were crazy mods that eliminated the built -in multi-channel DAC's and added a coaxial digital out for each pair of channels, allowing you to run any DAC you wanted, if you had 4 of them.
I am getting out of that space, but just sold a 7.1 preamp, the Halo P7 to a user exactly like that.