Since the 997 appears to be derived from the R-972 minus the amplifier section. What is the key differences between the 2. The price point seems to be pretty much the same thus what does the 997 offer that the 972 does not?

The price point is different (I think the MSRP on the 972 is around $1800 or maybe $2000), plus the 997 adds balanced pre-amp outputs. Beyond that, I don't know what other differences may exist.

Do you want to waste money on an unneeded amp section or do you need one?

Do you believe that separate processor/amps give you better sound quality overall?

Even if they are identical inside except for the amps and balance outputs (which I doubt will be the case.... Outlaw has better CS at least) those are the important questions.

On the price point I just noticed several web pages indicating:

Sherwood Newcastle R-972™ will be available for consumer market at MSRP of $1499 in August 2008.

If this is still true that would make the AMP section basically free of charge.

Agreed. Balanced outputs are nice, but I think few people actually make use of them.

Best,

I think that information is out of date. One, it didn't arrive in 2008. Two, I think the price started at $1500 back when it was announced in 2007 and rose at some point to $1800. I'd have to hunt through the AVS thread a bit to find where it ended up, though.

I use the Balanced outputs on the 990 to my 7500 amp with MIT Oracle 3.2 XLR cables. I wouldn't go back to RCA.

Balanced cables removed hum on the living room setup. I didn't have hum with 990-755 but did with 990-7700. Scott explained something (which I didn't understand) about "differential amps" vs. non-diff. Whatever !! Cured it. And I used some balanced mic cables from the recording days. One day I'll shorten them and "dress-out" the cables. Actually these were cables which I made up years ago, so no big deal to shorten...just time and interest, not necessity.

I would agree that if your room conditions or choice of equipment induce hum, then balanced cables come in handy. For the 3ft run between my 990 and 755, RCA connections are just dandy.

Nothing personal, but I just find it amusing that anyone would pay 1500-2000 per PAIR of balanced cables (MIT Oracle 3.2). That means the cabling between your 990 and 7500 exceeds the cost of the actual equipment (assuming you're using 5 channels) by a fairly wide margin. When I need balanced cables, I just roll my own out of Canare star quad mic cable and Neutrik XLR connectors. Perhaps I'm just in the wrong business. :-)

Best,

That was a joke - right? People don't really spend $1500 for a pair of cables, do they? I can see $200 for a set, but $1500. I remember reading a review of 3 different speaker cables - the super expensive, the inexpensive and the the Home Depot extension cord. The results were not that surprising. All were 12 gauge and the reviewer had trouble justifying the high priced ones. So seriously, was that a joke?