Very nice review. I had the opportunity to use the Model 950 for a brief period, so your comparison is invaluable.
A question about the use of your OPPO BDP-103. Have you tried using HDMI 2 output for audio vs. the 7.1 analog outs? [/quote]

Beach, You made me get the Oppo manual out to see what you were talking about. I see where it says superior audio and superior video can be obtained by splitting the A/V between the 2 hdmi's.
I have not tried that. How is the 976 going to deal with two hdmi inputs (1 audio and 1 video) though. How would i set that up?
Thanks for pointing that out. [/quote]

Since I don't have a pre amp that has HDMI, I can't speak from experience. However, I've read many accounts where people have connected HDMI 1 to the display and HDMI 2 to the AVR or pre.
I was just curious to see if you were using either HDMI for audio vs. the analog outs from the OPPO.