I have the 990 - 7.1 input - BDP-83 combination, and I am nothing short of amazed at the sound and picture quality. With adding the BDP I feel like I a jumped a whole another level, and I didn't really think that was possible (so to speak). I hope Outlaw does great with the 997, but I think they may have to rely on some new customers because right now I can't see upgrading to a 997 until I'm really looking for places to spend money (and maybe not even then at that point...how much longer is non-DVD video upconversion really going to be relevant?...and I remain a skeptic on room correction).

Re the original post - Nostalgia even if you end up doing other things, perhaps for the potential benefit of future readers I'll pile on and say folks should really consider a 990/BDP-83. You get to enjoy them immediately, and I think are likely contenders to last in anybody's setup for a long time.