In the world of home theater, there isn't likely to be any properly functioning preamp/processor that is "10 times" better than another. Dolby Labs tests everything that bears their trademark to insure that it operates within specifications, and only a few decoding chip sets are available anyway. The results will be more similar than different in most instances. The 950 has gone up against some rather expensive competition in my home theater, and the differences fall into the category of insignificant with Dolby and DTS material. For Redbook CD there have been greater differences, but the 950 has more than held the line against some far more expensive components. It sounds quite clean and smooth. The 990 has big shoes to fill, and I certainly hope it does.