My glitches,or gripes are minor. I mentioned in a previous post a problem with my Dave Brubeck Take Five cd only being playable in surround without hope of standard stereo playback.I have also found on occassion a somewhat unresponsive remote. I admit it might be due, maybe,to the fact that my 970 sits about 20" above my ear level (?). Also, switching surround modes seem slow compared to earlier and inferior units (Marantz). I believe this to be a valid point, but again,it doesn't detract from my listening experience. On the plus side, this unit's software is upgradeable. I have read elsewhere that some of the electronics in this unit are based on Sherwood/Newcastle designed components that also happen to be very well regarded in the audio press.Again, at $699, there is nothing out there comparable to this.Try some Mapleshade cd's or some nice DTS concert DVD's (movies too)and try to answer this...Is it worth the money? Yup.