The dynavoice dm-5 also don't appear to be very efficient. With the mid-range tweeter trying to cover the frequency span of 1800 to 9000 it makes for a tough job. For about $600 you can get a pair of Magnepan MMGs and probably be very happy since you mostly listen to music.

It's covering a even larger span in the df-8 model and i asked them about this and they stated that there woulsn't be a glap becuase of the dome tweeter, however i am not convinced of that. There is many speakers with good value like ztz 99.36, elac also makes good value speakers that are made in germany.

I am considering a pair of elac 249 but first i will do some listening with studio quality music. I think i will go for prepro+amp. I am skeptical against audyssey pro atm but i will read more about it and see if it's justified. Model 978 might work as a temporaty sulotion.

Well, there is always Marantz and Integra.
I mean it seems that a lot of people are getting justifiably irritated but I do think that we should keep in mine that the 990 is a superb processor even today some YEARS after it was put out on the market. Yes, it is true that Outlaw is a small company and PERHAPS it cannot compete or mass production as quickly as Sony, Marantz and so many other mass marketed electronic companies, but Outlaw puts their money where their mouths are and I think that when the 978 comes out of the gate they will be on the BEST of the top ten list in Home Theater.
Their products are well built and their support is superb.

This is not to say that if someone needs a processor they should stick around and do without until Outlaw decides to market their new 978 but how many people on this forum that have the 990 are having problems that require them to buy a new processor. I am sure that the vast majority of Outlaws would not consider buying a NEW processor unless the one they have was out of commission.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I believe in loyalty but if you have the money and NEED a replacement for the 990 then you should go for it.
My friend just purchased the Integra 80.3 for $2600.
I think it sounds great wired to his new Focal W series speakers but I can't say they are out running my B&W 804's and my Outlaw 990 processor.

Forgot about the MMG's. Those are indeed a bargain these days and can sound absolutely stunning if you make the effort to upgrade the "lowest bidder" crossover with quality parts. That's the best bang for the buck going these days in terms of amazing sounding speakers and you've got an amp that can drive them. Missing my maggies sumthin fierce.

Best,

Well right now Marantz isn't doing much competing either on the processor market. They came out with the AV7005 a couple of years ago. Some folks have been waiting for the release of the successor to the AV8003 for about two years. It was supposed to come out in April 2011 as the AV8005 but then the earthquake hit in March. By now it should be an AV8006 but with no news of whether it will be released. It seems that D&M Holding, the parent company of Denon, Marantz and McIntosh among others, has been reluctant to release upgrades of their higher-end processors and receivers these last couple of years on the Marantz and Denon brands. On the other hand, the mid to lower-end models get refreshed fairly regularly. Maybe they don't think that this market segment is as viable as the mid to low-end one right now with the economic downturn.

Hey Anjora,

I've found the perfect display for you! Take a look at this 145" (12 feet or 3,7m) behemoth 8K plasma display developed by NHK & Panasonic. Watch it on here on YouTube. Unless you've got a lot of bandwidth, I recommend you download and save the 1080P MP4 on your computer but it will take 100MB for the 2:16 video clip. Just look at the lady standing next to the display, she looks fuzzy in comparison to the pictures displayed! Of course you'll have to build a nuclear power plant in your backyard to power it. Just when I was starting to salivate on the new Panasonic VT50 plasma line, this thing comes along... Enjoy!

My 990 coupled with the OPPO 83 is everything I need to do everything I want to do. I also have an Onkyo 886 for my Miami home but I love to listen to my 990 when I am up north. The 990 is the perfect processor for us that don't want all the bells and whistles onboard and prefer outboard gadgets. Lack of HDMI is not a big deal since it has 7 channel analog input and the OPPO outputs directly to a display. The only thing that has ever disappointed me with the 990 is the OSD for the menu and thats an easy fix with a S-video cable.

The one thing I miss in my Oppo 83 is the extended selection of crossovers for the bass management that's being added to the Oppo's 93 & 95. Having only 80 Hz for the bass management is insufficient for my needs. Another thing that I would like is all the new video and sound codecs that have been added.

The trends of A/V merchants increasingly being beat-up by discounters makes them especially skittish to carry costly inventory.
The manufacturers are stuck between some rather unpleasant alternatives -- give up the volume associated with more affordable models (which jeopardizes their workforce and supply chain...) or 'churn' their product mix annually with minor changes (which kills off more of their retailers / distributors and alienates customers) or try to reposition their brands / product mix to appeal to different market segments (which involves heavy advertising and marketing costs, hurting cash-flow...).

These problems are not unique to A/V equipment -- camera makers, home computer makers, appliance companies, bicycle companies, and other products that once were commonly sold at specialty retailers and now are mostly sold at warehouse clubs and online are all threatened with new challenges.

It certainly does not help that only a few years ago it looked like "global prosperity" was limitless and now it looks like the gap between the 1% and everybody else is getting wider.

To my way of thinking the fact that Outlaw is doing as well as they are in VERY trying times is a positive

1. Stats from industry analytics firms are next to useless. They're often made up.

2. "Blu-Ray" local streaming has been available, commercially, for a few years - even with the atrocious and pointless BR menus. You won't see internet-based super-high bit-rate streaming for a very long time, if ever. Not because it won't be technically possible, but because there's no demand for it and unlikely to be any future demand.

3. No amount or variety of copy protection is going to stop a dedicated individual from ripping their media, Blu-Ray or otherwise.

4. If you can't see the difference between 720p and 1080p then you may not be using a high quality display, are using a small display or are sitting far enough away not to perceive a difference. BTW, there's no 24 fps 720p format - for many people 24hz frame rate is reason enough to use 1080.