This was strictly a business decision on the part of both Outlaw and Onkyo. Most people who have abandoned Outlaw have jumped into an Onkyo and most of the diehards still waiting have been contemplating jumping over to Onkyo for a while but have been unwilling to pull the trigger because of our loyalty to the brand. With no end in sight (I predict the delay to go well into 2010) what better way to help those who have been holding out than to endorse the very product we swore not to buy. This, in Outlaw's mind, is a win win. We get a processor now without the guilt, and they get kick backs from Onkyo and maybe even sell a few amps in the process. Why Onkyo, because we gave the idea. They read these posts and know that if the plug were pulled on the 997 today most of us would buy the Onkyo. Like another poster said "people are ready to throw money at Outlaw" but they have no product. So in comes Onkyo with their aging processor and slowing sales to the rescue. The bottom line is Outlaw has the customer and Onkyo has the product…absolutely shameless.