More analog input ports are actually useful for those who need that many input ports. Ext. analog inputs are only needed by those who for not very good reasons, prefer to use their beloved older medium players that has the sort of legacy 7.1 analog outputs. Most people nowadays understand it is better to use HDMI for the benefit of DSP functions that Denon/Marantz flagship AVRs/AVPs that do have very good DAC performance, and offer, tons of DSP functions, one being room corrections that include Audyssey and Dirac Live as paid options.
For not very good reasons? Have you ever heard Logic 7? If you had, you wouldn't be saying that, IMO. That was what was awesome with 7.1 inputs. You could keep your $6000 MC-1 or $11,000 MC-12.
Many lament these companies cheaping out and not licensing PLIIx on their Atmos models. DSU is just not the same for music upmixing and it's nowhere near as configurable and configurability is key to getting great 2-channel music upmixing in your particular room/setup.
I had a Technics AC3 decoder for years that sounded like crap playing surround music. The DC-1 is a revelation by comparison, even in Pro Logic 1 mode, let alone Logic 7.
There's something cool about listening to soundtracks exactly as they were originally heard too. Outside of the rare 70mm theater, Star Wars was Dolby Surround with banks of surround arrays. Return of the Jedi was the first movie ever shown in THX! There's no option on modern AVR/AVPs to play back the original soundtracks as they were actually heard to recreate that sound precisely as it was rendered in 1977 and 1983. Lexicon processors had both to professional specs. You can even set up a set of THX dipoles if you have a set lying around unused on modern formats (send it to an external amp and it'll be used with the THX mode. It can also do banks of surround monopoles as well. I use 4 pairs of monopoles for THX mode in a 24' long room. It becomes a miniature Dolby Surround and THX theater, not some 5.1 home theater! 13 speakers are used in THX mode with dialog lift engaged (17 with optional Surround Heights and Rear Heights copying the side surrounds for even less directivity).
DSU/Neural X have nothing in common with these original modes. The HD & 4K transfers of the Despecialized/Original theatrical films are in their original theatrical glory in THX. It's a time machine to a galaxy far far away from Lucas' nightmare changes...
Like was said, they could have made room for the 7.1 inputs. They could have gone one farther like the Lexicon MC-12 did and digitize the 7.1 inputs so DSU, Auromatic and Neural X could be applied to them (MC-12 could process its 5.1 inputs with Logic 7) as well as bass management and room correction. They obviously let people like you influence their thinking.
The irony is 7.1 inputs would let someone add however many stereo inputs the AVR plugged into it allowed (8 sets of line level RCA inputs on the MC-1, for example). It's obvious that gets you beyond what's offered plus allows any number of older processing modes by Meridian, Lexicon and even Dolby themselves (PLIIx) to be utilized as well.
