Outlaw has said (in their forum) that they expect the 997 to be available 60-90 days after the 972 is released, pending a trouble-free launch of the 972. They mentioned a "most optimistic" timeframe of June/July for the 997, which points to an April release of the 972.
I would think that the 972 will be much more than $1,200 since the 997 is expected to be $1,399. Why would anyone buy Outlaws 997 if a 972 were the same price or less? My guess is that the 972 will be closer to $2k than $1.5k. Since the Trinnov system is brand new to the AVR world and exclusive to the 972 (at the moment), Sherwood can charge basically whatever they want for it and people will buy it. Especially if the Trinnov is as good as it's rumored to be.
