Perhaps you might want to focus on the "made it to production" and "is available for sale" parts and THEN discuss "sound quality". Outside of the Outlaws themselves and a few beta testers, nobody knows what the sound quality of the 978 was like and we'll never know now.

If/when this new processor hits the streets and it can be reviewed, then we'll find out if the sound quality is going to be better/worse or the same as that of other widely available AVRs in the "budget" segment.

Best,