I broke down purchased the 950 b-stock/new 770 combo. This will probably mean that the 970 will soon be released, as it usually turns out that when I finally get around to purchasing something, the one that I really want comes out shortly afterwards. I've been into computers for about 20 years, so I'm sorta used to this.
I will tell you guys that I'm very impressed with the sound that comes from the 950. While its feature list is not much different from my Yamaha RX-V2200, the clarity and imaging that it produces is in another league. I'm very pleased with this combo, but I have a bunch more listening to do. If you are interested I've started a thread on my thoughts/experience with this combo in the 950 Forum. Here is the link:
http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubb/Forum15/HTML/001384.html Thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts with me. Bobm, I used some of your reasoning to help justify to myself purchasing the 950, thank you very much.
Jeff
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HT: Outlaw 975/7125 | Sony 55" SXRD | Roku Ultra | Sony BDP-S790 | Mirage OMD-15 (fronts) and Prestige 4 + Center Channel | Outlaw LFM-2
LR: ARC Reference 1 | Emotiva XPR-2 | Music Hall MMF2.2 | Oppo BDP-83SE | Polk XRt12 XM Receiver | Emotiva XDA-1 DAC | Sony HAP-S1 (digital audio player) | Sansui TU-217 Tuner | Magnepan 3.6R w/Mye-Stands | SVS SB-16 sub | BA VR-M90s | Audio Quest 72db speaker cable
Office: Drobo 5N running as PLEX media server
Closet: too many pieces to put all into place, I need more rooms