I still think that basing a new receiver on the 990 would be the right path to go. Unless there is a contractual problem, this could basically be an Outlaw version of the Sherwood receivers. While I know that I am over simplifying, about the only change needed to make this attractive to me would be to replace the DVI with HDMI.
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Living Room 24x18 open 1/2 flight up to a raised dining room/hall 24x12
Outlaw 976 pre-pro running 5.1 system
Outlaw 750 for Artison Masterpiece LCR and 2 NHT SuperZeros rears
Velodyne Servo FX-1200
LG OLED65C8PUA via HDMI2 to/from 976 HDMI ARC
Roku Ultra
Samsung BD-D5500 BluRay
Amazon FireStick 4K to 976 Aux HDMI input for Amazon Music Ultra