That's a good point, and one that seems rather reasonable. The Model 950 didn't have as much happening internally, but it was developed from the ground up as a surround processor and was under 15" deep. With the Model 978 and Model 998 sharing a faceplate (and possibly a basic chassis as well) that was developed from the outset as a surround processor rather than a receiver, we have a reasonable shot at something under that 16" mark.

I will be curious to see the differences in the 978 vs 998 (aside from Audyssey vs Trinnov).

I'm sure it is a bit early to see the specs in each, but prior to the 978 release:
I'm very interested in timing difference between releases and differences in feature/hardware specs.. Hopefully we will know more on the 998 prior to the 978 release to help us know how "inferior" the 978 is. Not sure that it will be too inferior.

Trinnov has me curious, but so does Audyssey XT32 (assuming the 978 has this)

Pure speculation on my part, but I doubt it as I'm sure they are trying to keep costs down. The only really good phono stages that are included generally come on uber-expensive equipment. If you're truely serious about a phono preamp, and want to keep your costs down, get a stand alone model. I'm amazed at the quality of my Cambridge 640P.

I got an outboard phono preamp 5 years ago for only about $50 and could not be happier. Remember that the signal from a phono cartridge is at a very low level, and therefore it is susceptible to picking up noticeable interference and hum. Boosting this low level signal on short cables to a preamp right next to the turntable eliminated the interference.

So even if the 978 has a phono stage I will not use it.

I love the phono stage on my 990. Haven't used the one on my 886 but I will soon.

I have another minor suggestion for the 978, much less critical than my previous requests. I'd like to see it offer onboard HDCD decoding, to be able to take advantage of the 978's promised high-end DACs, as opposed to decoding HDCD in the player (if available, and likely with inferior DACs if so) and necessitating an analogue connection between the player and pre/pro.

Thanks again.

I would guess it is too late to change the 978 too much. It might be a good idea for the 998 though.

Given the "true state of the art DACs" promised for the 978, the HDCD decoding issue really shouldn't require anything other than firmware support and (possibly) licensing fees. If not available at launch, it could be implemented by a subsequent firmware update.

It is also possible, such as with the Oppo BDP83, to decode HDCD in the player and output it at full resolution over HDMI into the AV processor. Thus it's not essential to do in the processor.

If that is indeed true, that would make the BDP-83 rather unique in that respect... I'm not aware of any other player that can decode HDCD to PCM at full 20-bit resolution without also converting to analogue. In fact, it seems to me that I saw a discussion to that effect on this forum while the 83 was undergoing beta testing, and, IIRC, gonk made a suggestion that the 83 might have the capability you describe, but I was subsequently unable to find any verification in the online manual. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, however.

In any case, I don't have a BDP-83, although I will likely be buying a 93 when it becomes available. I'll certainly be looking closely into its HDCD capabilities at that time.