Not that this one thing makes a huge difference, but the 990 does have phono inputs. Although 950 owners who have a TT all bought phono preamps long ago.

As the Outlaws mentioned, HDMI specs are still not finalized, and probably won't be until after the HiDef DVD format war is over. And even then, who knows?

Balanced outs are a non-issue for me as I've already purchased all the required cables and tranformers to connect my pro audio electronic xovers. They would have been nice 3 years ago on the 950 though. That would have saved me $600 or so...

Personally, I also see it as a step up from the 950, but not a huge one. More of a stopgap to cover the next 4 years or so until some of these other issues are straightened out.