I've had my 976 for a little more than a week and I am quite impressed. I replaced my venerable 990, which, to tell you the truth, I was pretty happy with. Turns out I didn't know what I was missing.

Setup was extremely simple; the manual was clearly written and easy to follow. I'm happy to say I was able to simplify the cabling behind my cabinets quite a bit.

The sound was impressive right out of the box, with no calibration at all. I auto-calibrated, and it noted an out-of-phase rear surround that I was unaware of.

TV and movies sound great and dialogue is more intelligible even at lower volumes. I've listened to CDs, DVD-Audio, and vinyl, and all sound spectacular, both in stereo and up-mixed to 7.1. My digital music is coming in through HDMI, so I'm using the 976's DACs.

Video looks great, seems sharper than it did through the 990 and switches fast. I don't have any 4K in my system, but now I can move in that direction.

I like my 7.1 setup a lot, and love my speakers. I'm not moving to 11.whatever any time soon, so the 976 works for me.

I have not encountered the IR challenges reported by some, but I immediately set up my Harmony Elite (I had to teach it the PowerOn code) and it's working great. I submitted a ticket to Harmony and they claim to be working on getting the 976 into their database, but if past experience is any guide it may take a little while.

I haven't run REW yet, that's my next project, after the holidays.

Full disclosure, I am a long-time Outlaw customer. My first purchase was a 1050 AVR in 2001 and I've been through multiple generations of receivers, pre-pros and amps. Over the years, Outlaw has consistently invested significant time and effort to produce quality components and the 976 is no exception. It has everything I need and nothing I don't.

Thanks for reading, and happy holidays all!