Ok, I now have the blue dot 950. Set up and calibrated (with my amp gain pots turned all the way up, as recommended by Parasound) the 950 and popped in a familiar CD. First thing I notice is that it sounds "honky" or "nasal". It sounds totally different than my first 950.

By the way, this 950 has nearly the same serial # as my original, but has a blue dot on it. My original is a "red dot" version, but has no dot on it.

I play a cd fairly loud, then turn on the tv and leave the room for a few hours. I come back and restart the CD. Wow! Now it sounds as sweet as the original did! So much for breaking in! I wonder if it will continue to improve over the next week or month. All "honkyness" is gone. Smooth and sweet.

So now I listen for hiss. I change from DVD (digital) to CD (analog) to TV (analog). The hiss when listening to a blank (no sound) format is gone. When listening to quiet passages on CD, the hiss is gone, allowing me to hear nuances that I could not hear before. When I first got my 950, I said it was the first time I ever used the words "detailed and revealing". This new 950 is even more so with the lack of hiss.

What more can I say. I was very happy with the 950, now I am ecstatic. My hiss is gone, and the amp is running the way it is supposed to, full out!

One last thing, when I calibrated, I gained 26db, not 8. The reason I did is because I had my amp turned way down to eliminate the hiss. When I turned it up, I gained the additional headroom.

Thanks Outlaws!