I talked the the Outlaws regarding the "noise". After a few tests, it was determinded that it was indeed the 950. They promptly shipped out a new unit that day.
I am happy to say that the replacement is noise free. Even at high volumes I hear absolutely nothing! It is one of the 02- models, so it looks like the new fix is a good one.
As for my first impressions, I am happy with it. The sound is more separated than what I got with my Yamaha 2092 serving as a pre amp. DPII-C is incredible. I watched Reign of Fire in analog, and it sounded very close to a Dolby Digital DVD.
Another cool feature that I didn't think I would utilize was the options for CD music. DPII-M and the various choices to blend the center speaker made a huge difference.
I am still trying to figure out the s-video switching. There is a difference between the 950 and the Yamaha. PQ seems about the same, but the color is not quite as vibrant on the 950. I reset the levels using my Video Essentials disk, but the blues and yellows are still slightly softer. It's not bad, just something I will have to get used to.
The one thing I do not like about the 950 is the amount of time it takes to lock in the correct audio signal. With Auto on and off, it still takes at least a couple of seconds to lock on. For most, this would not be a problem, but 95% or more of my television viewing is recorded (I have 3 Tivos hooked up to one TV). Everytime I fast forward, the 950 has to lock in the signal once the progam continues. It seems I miss the first few seconds of programing, so I will have to revise my remote to accomodate.
Overall, I like the 950. It was a snap setting up and callibrating the speakers etc. I read the manual 3 or 4 times before the unit arrived which was nice. I only had to refer to it a couple of times during my set up. The wife noticed a sound improvement right away as well. Now I don't have to justify the $900 that was spent!
Good job Outlaws!