When I bought my 990 I thought its feature set was generally equivalent to the Anthem AVM-30. When the 978 was announced I thought its feature set was very similar to that of the AVM-50. The 978 would have great sound, cutting edge room correction, all the decoding options which were all Anthem selling points and at a price about $3500 less than the AVM-50. And now those features are available in the top of the line Anthem receiver built in China.

I would agree with some of the previous posts about Anthem being a boutique manufacturer if they had stayed with just pre/pros and amps. However, when they brought out a line of receivers they stepped into a new and much larger arena. Fool me once, shame on you (990/AVM-30), fool me twice, shame on me (978/AVM-50 & MRX700). Anthem had double the motivation to see the 978 shelved.