I think the 978 pretty much hits the sweet spot of features to price assuming it will be priced at or below $1500. My 990 continues to work well and so I'm in no rush to buy a new processor and will wait on the 978. I did notice, and maybe it was mentioned before, that the 978 does not include a USB digital input on the back panel. That has been a convenient input on my 990 when I wanted to hook my laptop directly to my system to play music. Monoprice offers a USB to HDMI adapter for 2-channel use that costs $30 that might be a solution but the 990's USB input is certainly handy. I agree with Gonk that an Apple TV is a good network solution in particular since it can be easily upgraded/changed and the hardware in the pre/pro won't become a stranded asset. Do we have any idea if the second zone outputs will use the high quality DACs?