I'm in the market for a pre/pro and the 975 may just be the answer. As an owner of their 7700 amp, I love the look and performance. The 975 has this same look and ease of use, I really like that, not that I don't tinker but good design is a must. Again the 975 seems to do just that, from it's look, remote (both shipped and to be shipped replacement)to the manual's ease of operation, and not to mention the price - kudo's Outlaw!

I've read the latest review from HTR and scanned Outlaw's online manual. It seems to have almost everything I'm looking for in a pre/pro. But the 'almost' part is where I'm stuck.

What I find bothersome, from the review and Outlaw, is the lack of EQ. Not that I'm a big fan of XT, MCACC or other programs, I do use them. They dial in some issues better than without them - I still tweak the results afterwards. Understandably, they decided against going with the onboard EQ as it didn't meet expectations. But it still would have been nice to have manual EQing as opposed to bass/treble only. I was very happy when I bought my old receiver to find they had both. Even in the old days when I was running stereo I used an external EQ. Tailoring the sound was infineatly better than just bass/treble. I don't know if this can be implimented with a firmware update but it would make my decision alot easier.

I see Emotive just released the UMC-200, which does nearly everything the 975 does and includes both auto and manual EQ. However, Emo has had too many problems with the UMC-1. This new pre/pro will have to be near perfect to make any real headway. That and I've never liked their design - I know how that sounds Marantz has the 7005 and after reading many reviews and posts it seems to warrant consideration, except it's 3X the price (at least here in Canada).

Here's hoping that the 975 can knock one out of the park!