Welcome to the forum, Maximum7.

1. Yep, Outlaw still (last anyone heard) plans to produce a "big brother" to the 950. I would expect it to be a while arriving, however.
1a. I'll toss in my two cents on the glitches you mention -- the signal locking problem is true of all the home theater pre/pros (nature of the beast, as it were), the hiss is apparently about to go away, and the remote is good for most people (although the problem of adjusting things like sub trim is undeniably present). It may still not be what you need, but don't give up on it too quickly!

2. I know there are a few "Halo" products out already, but so far it's all two-channel gear. I haven't been closely watching the Halo stuff (just sort of noticed it here and there). Their site mentions "surround sound controllers" in 2002, for what that's worth, and they had some stuff at CES 2002 as you are probably aware, but they aren't even mentioning it on their website yet. Pricey! I know even less about the Sherwood Newcastle, I'm afraid...

3. The general concensus is that the Sherbourn and Atlantic Tech versions of the 950 will be straight clones -- they may have different specs for some components, but otherwise they're the same.

4. Heh-heh. Good question! And this may change, as Outlaw, Rotel, and others start making very competitive "budget" home theater pre-pros -- stuff that can be paired up with a multi-channel and and compete pricewise with the flagship receivers.

------------------
gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review