blueone,

We didn't "choose" this remote. This is what the factory had available and programmed when we got our Beta samples. To find another "temporary" remote would have taken us nearly as long as to tool our own permanent remote.
So to have an imperfect temporary remote but have the 975 for the holidays for our customers was my decision. And to be honest, if I had to make the call again, it would be the same.

If we "dinged" our reputation with you on this complex product with that remote I am truly sorry I disappointed you. Our new remote can't get here fast enough for all of us. To say the least, it is tough making these decisions, I can only say that the positive reaction to the 975 has exceeded our expectations and we are now thinking about the supply.


Peter

"Other way" as in NOT release a new pre-pro that's ready to ship? In this day and age, considering the usage of universal remotes, I wouldn't hold up an entire product release for that one item. This may be a case of you and me just putting a different amount of importance on manufacturer included remotes.

Peter,

I would guess you are *very* anxious for the new remotes to come in. This situation must be a Class A headache. If you're comfortable with the decision and would do it again, that's fine. It's your business. The only real price you're going to pay for being "dinged" in my mind is that I'll be asking more questions and trusting that a product is ready for prime time a bit less before I'd order again.

The 975 is, overall, meeting my expectations at this price point. The maximum volume level limitation mentioned above is an annoyance sometimes, but not a fatal one for me, especially since we view DVDs and BDs less and less, and stream more and more, and the Roku seems to have sufficient voltage for the 975 to operate normally. Video and audio quality appear to be top notch. Set-up was a breeze. In general, nicely done.

Blueone, sorry to hear about issues with your blu-ray volume level through HDMI. Just wondering if you might try connecting to the 975 via optical/coaxial digital connection, though I understand it won't allow the HD surround modes to play through them I'm interested to see if it might output at a noticeably higher volume level.

I am very, very close to pulling-the-trigger on my 975/7125 combo to replace my flagging 1050 and though I am concerned a bit about total output volume especially since blu-ray, Dish, game systems, and HTPC are what it will be used for, I have always wanted to implement a pre/pro setup and the flexibility that entails. I am also sure that in the coming years if output becomes an issue I might be inclined to upgrade the amp substantially to take further advantage of this killer little processor.

On a side note, I have a cheap Sony turntable connected to my 1050 and when I got the TRON Legacy LP last year whenever I got to my average listening volume level, my speakers would severely begin clipping causing me to immediately turn the volume to nearly inaudible levels. Ideas? Might I be concerned of this happening with the 975?

The issue with various volume level dependent on the source is not generic to the 975. Both my Onkyo and the 990 output a lot more audio via BDP or CD than with my iPod connection or my turntable. Changing sources always causes me to change the volume somewhat. The Onkyo allows me to boost or cut the source volume which allows me to level them out if needed.

Differences between inputs is not the quibble.
It's that with "quieter" sources the lack of gain on the 975 is thrown into sharp relief. Resultant SPLs are less than any other pre/pro I have used, Outlaw 970 included. It is true that units that are more free of distortion, "cleaner" if you will can sound subjectively quieter compared to a unit that is clipping its analogue stage as gain levels increase... but that's not what's going on here.
Rest assured the 975 is plenty loud (we did not send ours back at the conclusion of our trial) but be prepared to need to play it at or near full volume on quieter sources if your speakers are on the less sensitive side; particularly if one has added any relative speaker "gain" (such as bringing the center channel up). That is all.

That's a bit annoying. I wonder if it's something that can be "tweaked" if/when they issue a firmware update. One of the benefits of separates is that ability to "go to 11" on the volume when the mood strikes you.

Best,

I don't understand the quibbles about the remote either - it was clearly noted to be shipping with a temporary remote with a permanent remote to come later. If the remote is a deal-breaker, one simply waits until the permanent device is available to order the 975. There is no issue here...

I noted that the 975 has a 90db range of sound which starts at -90 db and goes to 0 db. As noted before if you jack the signal to one speaker it decreases the available headroom by the amount of boost. I ran my Onkyo all the way down to -81.5 db and I am pretty sure it goes up to +18 db for an overall range of 100 db. Below about -50db the audio is essentially muted to my ears. At my midpoint -32db the audio is clearly discernable. Maybe it is possible to shift the midpoint on the 975 to increase the max output via a firmware update but it could be a hardware limitation based on output voltage.

I ran a test this weekend with the Digital Video Essentials disk and my system. According to the DVE docs the test tone should provide a SPL of 75 dB if the system is calibrated correctly.

With my 975 on max volume (0 dB) I read 71 dB at my listening position on the Radio Shack meter. My speakers have a senstivity of 87 dB. So it appears that with th volumen knob at 0 dB, which is unity gain, then the levels for HDMI appear close-for my system. I'll grant that it would be nice to have a little more gain for those with inefficient speakers or larger listening areas.