Chris,
Although it does not matter for anyone's final decision; the 797 does have a fan. It is strategically palced at the left side of the heat sinks and angled downward to direct the heat out of the bottom vents.
A few additional differences-
The 797 is fan cooled
It also offers a second video source to zone 2
There is a Zone 2 12 volt trigger on the 797
There is also an optical digital output on the 797
3 optical and 3 coaxial ins as opposed to 2 and 2 on the 696
The 192/24 DACs of the 797 will...