According to the Outlaw I just talked to on the phone, they will release the 978 by the end of the year. They haven't announced anything simply because they want to be sure the date is firm. Unfortunately, that's too late for me, as my trusty old 950 finally died, so I now have a Marantz AV7005. So far, I am blown away by it's performance. The 978, or more likely the 998, will have to be something truely spectacular for me to part with my Marantz for a long long time.