Rather than the manufacture date, check the date it was shipped to you (maybe the confirmation e-mail) to see if it was on or after December 17 -- if so, it is the new revision.

My previous pre/pro was an Outlaw 1050 receiver, and the 1050's volume control is linear and so unrelated to dB at all, so my past experience isn't really typical. With my 950 calibrated to 75dB at 00 volume, I listen to DVD's at around -15 to -8. TV watching (digital cable) is probably around -20. CD's are similar.

The remote and zone two, unfortunately, are not extremely easy to use. I use mine with a wireless speaker that typically only gets used outside, so I have to go to the living room to make changes anyway, but I haven't heard of anyone coming up with an easy solution to controlling zone 2 where the 950 wasn't visible.

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