Wow can we take it down a notch? We are arguing over a Home Theater processor and south Texas had a hurricane come through. I wish the 976 was out already, but lets not lose it over this. It'll be out, it'll be great with no bugs.

Plus, Oregon is on fire!

I say again this and what follows. "Patience is a virtue." A little history:

In the early '90s stared w/Carver. Upgraded to HK, pure analogue. Then, I believe, a BIG step up to Rotel - 900 series gear.

Later upgraded to newer non-HDMI Rotel 10 series 1068. Similar sound character, purportedly $1600 new. When, like the 900 series gear, channels started dying, I started researching a replacement.

Stumbled accross Outlaw. New, under $600 shipped. Hmmm. Raving positive expert reviews from 3 sources.

Seems ANY used, much less new* HDM-friendly Rotel is a little to a lot more. Rotel purported** to be entry level "high end" yet w/ a negative history of mild to wild HDMI issues that the "Rotel Loyal" is willing to tolerate.
* $3000!! ** read reviews comparing them to Krell, Levinson, etc

No brainer guys. I've enjoyed what I believe is much better SQ, flawless, albiet kinda slow switching, HDMI reliability over the current Rotel offerings at a fraction of the $!! As far as I'm concerned the new models (976* for me*) will get here when they get here and well worth the wait.
* I believe these 10 & 11 channel systems, while WOWing I'm sure, will have a very low WAF and will go the way of 3D. They are for privledged few that can swing dedicated space for them.

So hang in there.

Hey Everyone,

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but I wonder if the 976 or the Atmos processors will have the new LCD display like the 2160 has. I know it's a small deal, but I think it would be a nice touch.

The announcement photos had the same display type as the 975, but I'm hoping the Outlaws will surprise us with an updated display. Then again, it might add some cost to the unit, so it might not be worth it...

+1 what Owls_Warder wrote on 9/1 @ 1:28pm.

And I agree with 975 destroyer on this: "I believe these 10 & 11 channel systems, while WOWing I'm sure, will have a very low WAF and will go the way of 3D."

Trouble is, best WAF I've run into ever was a sound bar. My massive towers with amps and boxes were second though, not because of discretion but because I put them in an impressive stack along with a Buttkicker amp and huge transducers in the sofa and under the floor... and she got addicted to showing it off. No kidding, the first time she really felt them, she said, "Wow! I wonder how these would feel with a movie that goes Bwam shakka wah wah!" We never watched those kind of movies.

There is certainly an evolving appreciation for the value, in every sense of the word, for more advanced sound tracks. In my own home the decision to upgrade the system that is most frequently used adjacent to our kitchen was driven by appreciation for the impact of what was in the "man cave". My wife is not really a "tech head" but she appreciates that listening to even more "family entertainment" type movies like the Harry Potter / Fantastic Beasts is more engrossing with immersive sound than getting by with the flat panel built in tiny speakers or even a sound bar. While we choose a combination of in-ceiling and surface mount speakers that had much to do with not wanting speaker cables lying about for pets or guests to trip over.

I suspect that the kinds of decorating that is more common these days is also a factor in what sorts of designs are offered from the nicer speaker firms -- the footprints and range of colors is such that folks need not worry about anything being overly intrusive.

I'd also suggest that with the explosion of things like Soul Cycle and other work-outs where music at a high volume is part of the experience there has been a shift in what is culturally acceptable -- it is not just freaks that wanna "hang out with the band" but a more gender balanced fan base for even the loudest music. The mix of consumers, from across all incomes / genders, who've come to understand that tiny little speakers connected to even the nicest cell phone are not as capable of good sound as something with more volume is shifting the "acceptance factor".

Of course there are other issues that also need to be considered -- people are generally renting longer in more areas, which makes in-wall/ceiling gear a harder sell. The average amount of space devoted to the TV itself has gone up quite a bit, with 50" now on the small side of things -- that leaves less floor space for tower or stand mounted bookshelf speakers (though either set-up can have very nice Atmos experience, that also typically means cable management issues...). More parents seem to worry about that sort of thing than anything else...

" Bwam shakka wah wah"
Now that begs for a detailed explanation ;-)

Just bought a new Sony 930E 4k TV and really really want to hook it up to the Outlaw 976 for 4k thru put. Is the 976 happening this year? Does anyone have a gut feel or inside info on this? The waiting is so hard.

At this point, I'd say they're targeting the holiday shopping season. Unfortunately, we don't know what that last 1% is that's holding up release so it's really anybody's guess.