Gonk:

Missed the Dolby Volume part. Thank you for pointing this out.

As far as the hacked down PC portion being a non-trivial item, I am not sure I agree. After all a Cisco WRT54GL wireless router which includes embedded Linux retails these days for under $54.00 Linux is embedded in a lot of devices these days from cell phones to DVD players. However, my thrust was not so much for the added functionality as a way of being able to do things with a general purpose processor and software rather then using custom logic chips and the like. Its a lot easier to patch software then work around the inherent logic flaws that might be burned into a chip even if you have firmware upgrade capability.

Umm, you weren't alone! I'm still curious how it implements for those who have it already...

Having recently been laid off, I'm probably in the perfect timeframe for looking at the Model 998!! I really look forward to the development of this pre/pro over the next few months. Trinnov really has my attention.

I think it's in the 998, but a good headphone jack is something I really miss. I can't use the one on my Marantz now that I've got an amp connected to it without changing trigger settings or otherwise getting really creative.

JP

Gah - not sure how I missed that, but there you go. See, they're listening to me even before I open my mouth!

Based on recent history, even an estimate based on the quarter is likely to be a complete shot in the dark.

I wouldn't hold your breath. Based on what I saw in the announcement, I'd be pretty surprised if this thing saw the light of day until sometime in mid-late 2011. I doubt many "old timers" are going to hold out for that long (especially those that were strung along for a couple of years on the 997) so I suspect their real hope with this is to advertise and attract a new crop of customers.

Maybe they'll have better luck with their new line of speakers. I suspect we've reached a point in time where small niche players just don't have the budget to effectively play in the theater processor game. Might be better for them to just cut bait on a branded processor and focus on what they're good at, rebranding Peter's amps and trying to leverage their license for the new speaker designs. Leave the capital/time intensive processor business up to a well-funded partner like Onkyo and get on with life.

Best,

Don't know if it will be compatible with Trinnov, but some sort of tilt-EQ feature would be handy. For music recordings, it would allow you to quickly brighten or warm up a recording. For movies, it would allow you to set a house curve to your tastes. The recent room correction comparisons done by Harman demonstrate the usefulness of a feature like this.

This is likely something that can be added via programming and not need any hardware changes:

If a 'sleep timer' is a part of the feature set, change the programming from

1) Wait X minutes
2) Power off

to

1) Wait X minutes
2) Start a loop with 60 (or 120) iterations
3) Volume down by one dB (or by .5 dB)
4) Wait 2 seconds (or 1 second)
5) End Loop
6) Power off

This way, instead of 'power off' suddenly cutting the sound, the volume will be reduced by 60dB slowly over two minutes, or even to zero if the volume was not that high to begin with, before the 'power off'.

Netflix streaming

My suggestions carry forward from some of the pet peeves that I have my the Onkyo 886.

1. On the 886, the sub outputs on Zones 2 and 3 are next to useless (for reasons I won't go into.) Please build in flexible bass management controls (selectable Xover point and adjustable levels would be great - perhaps with a calibration tone to make the job easier and more accurate.)

2. Show real-time plots of Trinnov's effect(s) - and allow post-auto set-up tweaking using those plots. Even my Pioneer 1019 receiver that I bought new for $400 and use in my secondary HT shows great post-EQ plots etc. The Onkyo 886 shows me: nada. Zilch. And it allows no post-auto EQ tweaking. All tweaks start from scratch. (And while I'm on the subject of auto-EQ etc.... In my main HT I don't use the Audyssey on the 886 (it does more harm than good) however Pioneer's Auto MCACC on the 1019 does an incredibly good job. I'd be happy if Trinnov performed as well as MCACC where the two have comparable features (like level, distance, and EQ settings.) That Trinnov is supposed to be better is merely a bonus.

3. Wired, wireless, and USB firmware upgrades. Hey! I like having options. The 886 gives me none. I don't need content streaming; I have some of that with my Sony BD player now and by the time the 998 hits the market just about any semi-quality BD player will come with it anyhow. So long as one piece of gear in my racks supports it (and it might as well be the cheapest and easiest component to replace) that's all I need.

4. And finally, it should have one feature that was the main reason that I bought the 886: it should NOT be made in China!

ps. to Peter and the rest of the Outlaws: you've handled this extremely well!

How about a well-thought-out and organized onscreen menu system? Prepros have become way too sophisticated now to be held back by these clunky, nonintuitive interfaces you see out there. I don't mean just nice and shiny - the Denon 3808 in my BR has a nice looking interface that's still confusing as hell. It's all about finding what you need without looking through every submenu out there.

And while we're on the subject...an iphone/ipod touch app (like the one that Pioneer has for their upcoming line of receivers) would be soooo nice. Not likely, I know...but who wouldn't buy the 998 if one was made available?

I'm going to energetically second sluggo's comment about a well thought out onscreen menu. I don't need pretty colors, shiny graphics, and need swirling do-dads, but I think that putting the effort into really thinking through the menu interface would offer real benefits to the users.