The R-972 has been released although in very small numbers. Several owners have posted on AVS their impressions on the R-972. Here is a link to a post on AVS from Jeff at S/N.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16764595#post16764595

So it appears that the R-972 will be more available the middle to the end of this month. So I would guess that means the release of the 997 should not be too far off .

Bill