Sometimes sound quality isn't the only issue. Basic usability, features and functionality do matter as does price. I know my wife will throw a fit if I buy another Outlaw product and it has the same type knob problems as our 1050 and RR2150 (see those forums).

It makes "absolutely no sense" only to those that want to limit themselves to the current state of theatrical playback. If that's your goal (and it's a completely valid one), then you might as well get a 6.1-channel pre-pro (limiting yourself to 3 surrounds: left, right, back) and run everything in THX mode using dipole surrounds to mimic the diffuse surround field you hear at the local cineplex.

For those wanting to go beyond what commercial theatres are capable of, there's 7.1 and (soon) 9.1 and 11.1 systems. With current 7.1 playback, the rear speakers are run in stereo, allowing for smoother pans in the surround field and stereophonic imaging between speakers. Even the best theatrical sound systems can't do that.

If going beyond the limits of commercial cinemas makes "absolutely no sense" to you, then you need not participate. Nothing more complicated than that. Heck, surround sound makes no sense to 2-channel purists (we only have 2 ears, sound only comes from in front of us, etc), so you'll be in good company. If others don't want to limit themselves the way you do, then that's their prerogative (whether it makes sense to you or not).

Gosh, all I was suggesting is that Outlaw not rush the 997!

Why are we even arguing here???
This delay is what it is.
I am waiting for both the 997 and the Emotiva to finally be released.
To bad these units can not be released before Christmas… somehow I don’t think that will happen.
I don’t want all the whistles and bells that you see on receivers. I want the best possible sound I can achieve for the money. Nothing more… nothing less… If you want a receiver, than what are you waiting for? There are plenty of great receivers out on the market to scoop up.

I think it's a horse race to see whether the 997 or the UMC-1 is released first. Neither company is doing a whole lot of talking about the source of the delays. I think the days of affordable niche players being able to roll out something as complex as a quality theater receiver/preamp are pretty much over. Unless you want to shell out for the likes of Lexicon, I suspect the only option for the next couple of years are going to come from the larger players (like Onkyo/Matsushita/Sony/etc).

In a couple of years you'll be able to do everything with a general computing device in something similar to a Mac Mini form factor and I suspect the final size of the device will be more driven by the number and type of input/output jacks it needs to support. Perhaps then there will be some opportunity in the software development side for the niche players. We live in interesting times.

Remember the old Chinese curse:

"May you live in interesting times."

Well, after going through the Sherwood 972 thread on AVS, the Trinnov seems to be a disappointment.
It almost seems to be hamstringing the potential the SN 972 is capable of.
Don't get me wrong. It is early. But if first indications hold true, the 997 will be a disappointment IMO.

I haven't checked the 972 thread in a while, but last time I checked it wasn't clear if Noah Katz had gotten it running yet. With the problems he was having, it sounded like it might be appropriate to wait a bit before passing judgment.

"With the problems he was having, it sounded like it might be appropriate to wait a bit before passing judgment."

Right

So a group of audio afficianados can't get it working correctly after quite some time fiddling with it. Yeah, that bodes well....