Ah...so you've got an analog source or a higher end DVD player with quality DAC (I agree about the quality of the Oppo DAC vs the cirrus logic DSP in the 975). Have you thought about picking up a used 990? People are selling them for $200-300 and that would fit the bill nicely. My old 990 + a 755 amp was absolutely luscious for 2 channel stereo. Otherwise, there's plenty of choices out there in the same price range as the 975 that support 7.1 analog inputs.