I'm with you guys on the 997 not having a phono input, my dedicated H/T room is simply that, for gaming, movies and watching the satellite, have no desire to listen to music in that room, if I wanna listen to music, I go to the 2-channel setup in the game room. I only asked about the phono input for another guy on another forum. The 997 not having a phono input by no way makes a deciding factor on my purchase of the 997, as a matter of fact, once the pre-order opens I'm hoping to be the first in line to place my order (provided I have the funds at the time).