2. I am impatiently waiting

A year ago, the 997 may very well have been an immediate buy, based on what a great value the 990 has been.

But that was a year ago. The incredible string of problems associated with the Sherwood Newcastle really have to give one pause. It's reasonable to expect some delays with a new product. We can all understand that. This is especially the case with something as (hopefully) revolutionary as the Trinnov optimizer.

Since that time, I've learned to adapt to the limitations of the 990. The analog inputs have helped with that. So has the addition of some Monoprice HDMI switchers. It's not the ideal fix, and there's no lossless audio via HDMI, but it works.

The 997 once made for a compelling upgrade, but time is passing by too quickly, and features are already lacking. In addition to the yet-again changes to HDMI, it lacks HD radio and an ethernet port. The later is becoming more commonplace and almost a requirement at this time, and especially going forward.

While the 997 is still worth consideration, the time it has to hit the market is dwindling. I'm not sure about the price anymore, either. There are reports of the Sherwood 972 hitting eBay for around $1100. That's not a good sign, and the reported problems are giving it (and the unreleased 997) a very bad reputation. That leaves Outlaw with a product that's going to be a hard sell.

Scott