I agree with GaryB. I think the 997 was going to look a lot like the 990 - hence the placeholder using the 990 - but I think the 978's design (which is a stylized and simplified spin-off of the RR2150) looks promising.

With the mixed look of the RR2150 and the established "industrial" look of their previous pre/pro's I wonder what will be the dimensions in terms of hieght. Personally, I always thought the 990 looked cool.

Yes. I too have asked about the dimensions of the 978. I want to know the depth as well. I'm not worried about whether it will fit in my set-up, but rather how much room I'll have behind it.

It shouldn't be all too difficult to get a fairly accurate idea of the dimensions of the 978....

Assuming the phono in jack on the front is a 1/4" jack (or if one knew the dimensions of an HDMI, XLR or RCA jack on the back panel), couldn't one extrapolate the width and height by printing a large (say a photo quality print on legal paper) and measuring the overall width/height as compared to the known dimensions of a phono jack(or other). On to the hard part.

Assuming that the front panel and back panel are the same width/height, one could, with some ninja maths, reckon the depth based on the distance shown from the front panel to the back as shown on the front panel panel pic (which shows some one point perspective).

One could do this, if one were so inclined; it would be easier said than done, of course.

Since the Outlaws already have a prototype on hand (and probably agreed to the chaise configuration some time ago), they could easily post a preliminary height, width and depth without disclosing any other secrets. They could even do a plus or minus on each dimension in case things are not yet finalized.

Agreed, but they haven't, and likely won't in the near future.

Simply suggesting some fun homework for those interested in the dimensions.

Sure looks like 5.25 x 17.5 to me. Depth is the odd one. If I was a betting man, I'd say 16 or 16.5 deep.

Will be interesting to see how close I am.

~Bob

We should start a pool on the dimensions; and the release date.

my preliminaries look like anywhere from 5.5x15 to 6x17, I haven't followed my own advice, though. I am sure it will fit inside a standard rack with plenty of room to spare.

Months ago, after printing out the original mock-up of the 998, and assuming the same 17.1" width as the designed-by-Outlaw RR2150 (with which the 978/998 share a similar front fascia, as noted by gonk), I calculated a height of almost exactly 6.5" including the feet, i.e. approximately 6" for the faceplate and 0.5" for the feet.

It's virtually impossible to accurately estimate the depth from the newer pics of the 978; I'm still hoping for no more than 16" including all front and rear projections, as I requested in another post quite a while back.

I'm in the pool with 15.8 inches wide by 5.5.inches high without feet. Outlaw tends to like taller feet so I am going with 6.5 total height. I also think 16 inches is a reasonable depth.