First, I think that many 950 owners will stay with what they have, and I don't blame them for it - the 950 is still a nice unit.

If you don't already have a headphone amp lying around (I've had my 950 for over 3 years now and never got around to picking one up), the inclusion of a headphone jack - especially with Dolby Headphone tossed in - is a nice incentive, but I agree that it's not enough to warrant upgrading your system. The phono input is similar - in both cases, if you are considering an upgrade they serve as "bonuses" that add value to the 990.

Pro Logic IIx is as "hot button" a feature today as Pro Logic II was when the 950 came out - it's a feature that people will demand be on a new product. If you plan to run your system in 5.1, it is completely useless, but 7.1 system users will expect it and there may even be a few folks who upgrade specifically to get it.

What we are hearing from Outlaw (and I've done a little web research that has consistently supported their information, although specifics are rather unsettlingly sparse) is that while HDMI video is pretty well established as a format, HDMI audio is still evolving. The current generation of HDMI is 1.1. I think that 1.2 will support SACD, and if HDMI is anything like USB was, the change from 1.1 to 1.2 will likely not be a purely software adjustment. Even worse, nobody seems to have hammered out the real details on the audio formats and encryption schemes for either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. HD-DVD was supposed to have that determined in March of this year, but what I've found suggests that this will not be done until potentially as late as near the end of summer. HD disc audio is perhaps the most important piece of the HDMI audio puzzle, and with no format to design to, Outlaw has apparently chosen to avoid alienating customers by stranding them with an incompatible HDMI switching section. As nfaguys points out, it is possible to get HDMI-to-DVI and DVI-to-HDMI adapters, since the video signals are pin-to-pin compatible. There are a lot of folks (like myself) with DVI-equipped displays who will need HDMI-to-DVI adapters to use HDMI sources anyway, and after the very active sales of DVI-equipped displays over the last couple years, there is a large installed base of DVI users who will be using DVI inputs for many years to come. I agree that the DVI switching is not the ideal solution, but we are in the position of having to wait at least another six to twelve months before we can expect manufacturers to even begin designing hardware with HDMI inputs that we know will work with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, which means a smaller company like Outlaw (or Rotel, or Anthem, or ...) would be lucky to get an HD HDMI unit in production by the end of 2006. By then, the 950 would be pretty long in the tooth, so it seems like a pretty well thought out decision to give the 990 DVI switching.

The 990 doesn't make the 950 obsolete, and I'm sure most 950 owners will keep what they have for a while longer. Others will see some of the 990's features as sufficiently compelling reasons for them to make an upgrade. It's all about what's right for you, folks.