I too am more than just a bit disappointed that there doesn't appear to be any multi-channel mix of 'Delta Machine'. Like pythonman, I was grateful for, if somewhat annoyed by, the 5.1 DVD-V mix of 'SOTU', an album I picked up as both double disc and 4 disc box set. However, the fact that their entire back catalogue is available in SACD hybrid multi-channel, save for 'SOFAD Live', 'SOTU' and now 'Delta Machine', makes the omission of a hi-res multi-channel mix all the more glaring.
I'm not sure whether the previous releases were something the band themselves instigated, or just a marketing ploy to milk a back catalogue, but the demand for them on the second hand market surely demonstrates that there is a desire for this format by their fans. I did find it strange when Mute re-issued the re-issues minus the SACD version and thanked my lucky stars that I got in on release day to buy all 10. Ironically, such was my lust for these albums that when Mute's online store told me that 5 of the 10 were on back order, I ordered them from another source, only for Mute to fulfil their order a week later, so I ended up with half of the reissues in duplicate. I promptly sold them to a friend for what I had paid for them. If only I had hung on to them, I could have sold them individually on eBay today for three figure sums!
Someone elsewhere suggested that their new label, Columbia, might have had a bearing on the decision, but seeing as Columbia is owned by Sony, creators of SACD, I'd find that strange. Why would a label not issue a release from arguably the biggest selling electronic band of all time in a 'native' format.
Unless, that is, Sony are planning to release a Blu Ray Audio version? Hmmm..... That would be enough to have me jump on board the Blu Ray wagon.
I'll be buying the album because I am a massive DM fan, but there will be a gaping hole in my DM collection until someone decides to release a 5.1 mix
I'm figuring the only surround-like version I'll hear of Delta Machine is the one I'll bear witness to at the O2 Arena in May...