Good write up, Dan.

I noticed that same oddity in the remote but I only used it long enough to teach my universal the command set so it wasn't anything I paid much attention.

The OSD kinda reminds me of the VCR OSD we had back in the 90's. Perfectly functional just very simple. I don't mind it but since this is the first pre-amp I've had (upgraded from Outlaw's 1050 receiver) I don't have any basis for comparison. I have no idea what options are out there for OSD.

The front panel brightness and power light don't bug me at all. I like being able to see them when I look for it. However, this may either be a personal preference or due to the fact that the 975 is physically positioned low enough the coffee table obscures it when seated on the couch.

I've had a couple of flashes of color you describe when switching HDMI sources, but my sources always kick in so it may just be some weirdness with your sources and the 975 handshaking. For example, our first generation ROKU box wouldn't ever synch up with the 975. This wasn't a big deal for us as there were plans to move that one to the bedroom and drop in the second gen unit at some point, I just wasn't planning to do it on initial set up. The box works great with our TV, just won't connect to the 975. My guess is that it may have something to do with the age and the HDMI specs when it was built but I really don't have enough experience with HDMI to say. Have you noticed if it's a particular source that drops out on you or is it random?

Like you, we love the way the 975 sounds and finally being able to use HDMI inputs and get the full lossless soundtracks has been fantastic.