Hello again. It has now been a month (I made the intolerably long post on the previous page some time ago) and I'm happy to report that the 975 has been performing quite well. I've had zero problems with the audio output and the only niggling performance issue I have is with the HDMI. It definitely is slow to switch (compared to Denon at least) and very occasionally I'll get the "screen of sparkly color" (it is NOT cabling, replaced all of it with no improvement). I've not had to turn off or reset the unit to clear it, only switch sources. Interestingly enough, the HDMI seems most sensitive to my HTPC (newer NVIDIA card equipped). The 975 will drop the whole picture for second sometimes when switching GUI windows/desktops or starting video programs (VLC, Netflix, YouTube, etc.). It's not consistent and again, just happens now-and-then. And just for my baseline... all the same equipment performed flawlessly with my previous AVRs.

On to the most positive side, audio. The 975 revealed that my recently purchased Axiom ADA-1000 (5 channel) is too weak. Sound is so amazingly clear at high volume that, before you realize it, you run the ADA-1000 into protection mode. So I have an ADA-1250 on the way. Stunning clarity with this combination. And that makes up for everything else.