I am just getting back into following on the technical aspects of home theater after taking a very long hiatus.
Has there been any information dropped about when Preamps/Processors will likely be released that will be able to take full advantage of HDMI 2.1? Meaning, be able take advantage of the full 48 Gbps bandwidth.
I know content is going to continue to lag behind, but I am looking to make the jump from a single AVR to seperates. And I don't think I want to make that jump until the preamps are fully HDMI 2.1 capable, as my current AVR provides, at least, satisfactory performance.
I know Marantz and Yamaha have AVRs that should be (or are at least 8k capable) HDMI 2.1 capable, but I am looking specifically at home audio/home theater separates, not AVRs
Well, let me begin by saying you can't really future proof. After any purchase some committee will want a new version of something no matter how questionable the benefits.
I bought my first pre/pro in 2006. I am now on my fourth generation of pre/pros in 14 years. So that is about a new version every 4 years or so. Now the law of diminishing returns is operating. The benefits getting less and less able to be discerned. The benefit of going from 2K to 4K has been barely significant. It is hard to see a significant difference from 2K to 4K. That is with the best 4K OLED out there. That is only marginally better then my two older plasma screens. Now my last generation of pre/pros are still giving great service in two other systems. Atoms has been a benefit, which also ties in with improved up mixers. The latter has been a much greater benefit than 4K. The ARC has been a benefit. It now actually works, and I never used previous versions. It is handy though to use the Neflix and Amazon Prime apps in the TV now it works as intended. I do not use it for anything else though. The downside is that it has made cabling difficult and expensive if HDMI runs are long.
A big issue now is that that with the disruption in trade with China I anticipate far more supply problems. These will increase. I think it will be a long time before the benefits of HDMI 2.1 show up in product. I really don't think 8K will make a difference, 60 f/sec might be marginal.
So if you want to start building out a system, you never will if you wait to future proof. So for the above reasons now is as good a time to start as any.
Now unless your room is very large indeed you only need four Atmos ceiling speakers and not 6. So that means I chose the Marantz AV 7705 and not the Marantz 8805.
My room is 16' X 30' rounded off with 9' ceiling and 7.2.4 is optimal. That is a good unit now. I bought it about a year ago, but put it in service mid October last year. It was buggy at first, but after an avalanche of firmware updates, which still continue, is is a good functioning unit now. Things are now so complicated you probably should not be the first to jump in. It is actually no bad to be a little behind the "bleeding edge."
The next issue that concerns me is that you seem pretty new to this, and what you propose is a complex engineering undertaking, to make it all work really nicely.
So you you are talking at least 11 channels of power amplification in addition to two subs. That is a lot. I don't think using amps with a lot of channels gets you much further ahead than using an AVR. So I recommend 2 channel and may be 3 channel power amps.
Now all this requires huge attention to powering. For one thing I can assure you that number of amps requires magnetic shunt breakers, or your breakers will trip with every switch on. You must pay huge attention to your system ground plane and layout. This is because you have to take obsessional care to keep the noise floor down with that many channels, or you will not have a good experience. That means thought must be given to layout in a system that complex, and you must be able to get behind it.
To put this together will require careful thought and design, and the expenditure of substantial funds.
Lastly keep in mind that if you are not prepared to "pay the piper" so to speak, then remember a simpler system built with higher quality components will always beat a more complex one built with lower quality components.
If you want to know what a power amp case looks like for a 7.4.2 system this is it.
Hidden in the walls is 600 ft of speaker cable and 150 ft of HDMI, Ethernet and RGB cable for a total of 750 ft. of cabling. It all in conduit so it can be changed. You must put all in wall AV cabling in conduit, no exceptions.
Then it looks neat and tidy.
So you can certainly do what you want. Careful planning and costing of the project will avoid disappointment.