As a reminder, the stability of the basic Newcastle 972 platform controls our release of the 997. The 972 will break new ground with Trinnov processing and we are all going to be sensitive to any glitches Newcastle might encounter. Such things are unavoidable. Actually, we are not aware of any processor (or for that matte A/V receiver) that has entered the market without encountering some teething issues.

So in a way, going second has its advantages. This was made clear to us when we launched the 990. While it was based on the Newcastle P-965, we were able to address a few shortcomings in their software operation. Some of our improvements were subsequently incorporated into the 965 production. So while we are all anxious to launch the 997, waiting for Newcastle 972 field results will only help to make our product better on launch.

Peter