Actually, I want to SEPARATE the room correction from the preamp. The XMC-1 has Emotiva's watered down Dirac Live (thought the full version can be licensed for $99). For me, the preamp should do source selection, decoding (DTS and Dolby) and perhaps level, delay, and bass management (speaker management, though there's no reason this can't be combined with room correction).

I would not expect "handshake issue", at least not in this day and age. The biggies are EDID and HDCP 2.2, and whether they are implemented properly.

Given that the 975 can source audio and video separately (say audio from the 7.1 analog inputs), I'd expect the 976 to have this capability, though whether it would take the audio from the video source and send it out the HDMI output(s) is anyone's guess (and in what format).

I was HOPING the 976's secondary HDMI output would work much like the one on the Oppo BD players: HDMI 1.4 with LPCM audio. But, if it is like most pre/pros it will have, at most, two channel audio, either mixed down from the main source, or any other ANALOG input. If it worked like the Oppo, I could add a nanaoAVR HD, nanoAVR DL, and HDMI 7.1 ch DAC between the secondary HDMI output and 7.1 analog input and get what I want. Alas, this goes so much against the grain of how most pre/pros seem to work with regard to their outputs, that's it probably a lost cause.

I could simply take the secondary HDMI output from the Oppo BD player, add my processing chain, and drive one HDMI input on the 976, adding an HDMI switch BEFORE the Oppo and not using the one in the 976, basically using the 976 as a glorified DAC and volume control with balanced outputs (it's actually cheap for this purpose alone).

Alternatively, re sample the 7.1 outputs and use a DDRC-88A (which is far less Frankensteinish, albeit the resampling). But, for that I could use a 975 and a separate HDMI switch, with the secondary HDMI audio out of the Oppo BD player.

So, it's switch in the 976 and use a DDRC-88A, or switch externally, and use nanoAVRs with a 976, or a DDRC-88A with a 975.

On Edit: if I only used the 976 as an HDMI 1.4 to 7.1ch balanced audio DAC and volume control it would STILL be the cheapest option in that regard.