Decision - 990 vs. 970 while waiting for the 997

All right, so my 7700 comes in today and my current amp does not have pre-amp outputs. So, I would like to get something so that I can use the amp till the 997 arrives.

Adding to that, the $200 off of the 997 that you get by having the 990 or 970, and I have decided on one or the other.

I currently do not have a 7-channel set-up (5.1 only) and I won't have it before the 997 arrives.

I am debating a B-stock 970 at $399 and no shipping vs. a $699 990 w/ free shipping. The ONLY thing that is making me lean towards the 990 is the fact that the 997 will have balanced outputs, and I could get the cables for the 990 now and then use them w/ the 997 when that comes.

Other than that, I am leaning toward the 970. The other nice part about getting the 970 is that for $100 more than just the cost of the 990, I could get a SMS-1 at the same time...

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Ted

I faced the same decision back in November, I went for the 970. For me it came down to cost, as it was a temporary fill till the replacement comes around. The beauty about Outlaw's deal is that the $200 off applies to both the 970 and 990.

I can't compare the 2, but I can say that I am really enjoying the current system (my 7500 amp has the power to run my speakers properly, as my old HK AVR225 didn't). My old HK didn't have pre-outs either.

If it is the cables holding you back, analog cables are not too expensive, at least they don't have to be too expensive. You can utilize those now and purchase the xlr's at a later date. I actually have xlr's in my storage room waiting for my 997.

Hmmm,
That is what I am leaning towards. Thanks for the info!

What dvd player do you have? If you have an oppo use the digital volume control and the analog outs until the 997 arrives.

If your getting the 997, you might not need an SMS. The Trinnatrov equalization in the 997 may make the SMS unnecessary. I guess we won't really know until we can see how well the 997 equalizes bass, but since Outlaw is offering such a deal on SMS-1, It's probably safe to say they don't expect to sell a lot of them for use with 997s.

Pulled the trigger on the 970 B-stock and SMS-1...

While the SMS-1 might not be needed, I figured I will use it till then with my two subs, and then try the 997 w/ and w/o to see which sounds better