You're right, of course, Chad. I don't stretch my strings under tension. I let the bow do that. Regardless, the string of which I speak is a well shot in D-97. If it were at the AMO standard of 61 inches, I'm sure the brace would be close to 8 inches.
I dunno. Maybe that's where J.D. would want the brace height. Doesn't deal with brace height on his web site, and i haven't asked him. However, for my tastes 6 3/4 -- 7 inches is plenty high. The bow looks and shoots good at that brace, so that's where I'm keeping it. And a 62-inch string is what does it. BTW, the Taipan is a fairly aggressive R/D longbow; the tips don't quite make it back to even with the back of the riser in its unstrung profile.
Matt: How long is the string that came with your bow, and what does it brace your Taipan at?