I am extremely happy with my 950. I don’t plan on upgrading at this time. But then again, I was still using original pro-logic when I upgraded to the 950. There certainly will be early 950 adopters who will become early 950 adopters, and I’d think the budget-minded will be able to pick up a used 950.

The two features that I would like to have on my 950 are Dolby PLIIx and digital video switching. However, we are talking about a significant price difference between a new $1,100 Model 990 and a new $700 Model 950. The 990 is 57% more expensive than the 950

Outlaw discontinued the 1050 long before the 1070 came out. If they discontinued the 950, they would have no receivers or pre/pros to sell before the 990 arrived. Although it’s not state-of-the-art, the 950 is still a very formidable pre/pro. If they can add Dolby PLIIx and call it the 951, I would think Outlaw could sell both products side by side for a long time.

The thing I don't get is why a/v manufacturers don't use slots like computer manufacturers use - wouldn't it make hardware upgradability a no-brainer? DVI no longer the standard? Swap it out for HDMI 1.0. HDMI 1.0 no longer the standard? Swap it out for HDMI 2.0 or whatever.

Is this really that expensive to implement, or is it simply a matter of needing to keep us upgrading every few years?

-SM

The reason I'm with the 900 is I don't own a 950 - otherwise it would be a hard decision!

Rather than a DVI-HDMI switch, I'll get a DVI-HDMI cable. Pretty inexpensive & one less thing to go wrong. My Panasonic PJ (AE-700) has a HDMI input, so the DVI on the 900 will will pass through directly. The other bonus - the HDMI end is so much smaller, it will pass through the conduit much easier than the DVI.

Bob

bobby c: I also don't own either, yet. I'm going with the 990 for reasons discussed in thread above. Your input also helps me. Thanx

I am sitting on the fence. I am on the wait-list for the 990, but most of what is attractive to me about the 990 is user interface improvements (I travel a lot and I get a lot of cell phone calls from the wife asking how to use the system)

Things like renameable inputs, up-conversion to Component (so my wife doesn't need to change display inputs) and auto speaker calibration (for when she messes everything up) are really nice human interface components on the 990. The PCM upconversion and USB are nice touches too, but I think they are of dubious importance.

I don't know that they are worth $400, but since I don't already own a 950, and my purchases are infrequent (I am replacing a Pre-dolby digital rotel bought in 1997) getting something (more)state-of the art that I might grow into may be worth $400 down the road. However, since I don't plan to go past 5.1 in the near future, maybe not.

If I see a used 950 go below $500 I might go that way, but otherwise, I think it may be worth it to pony up the extra money.

Any thoughts?

Any thoughts? Yes.
I, too, don't often update. I bought a receiver with Dolby ProLogic around 1991 or so. Happy with it till I (very late in the game) learned about 5.1 Bought a Vantas unit which supposedly "tracks" the main R&L and with three built-in amps tells the center and surrounds what to do, and you can plus or minus to a degree. Never thought it was exceptional and also I could hear it "pump" or "work". Wife never understood it, nor my other [what I considersimple"] hookup. So for reasons you mentioned and for those in the thread above I'm going with the 990.

For one thing I think its "platforms" will be stable for awhile, including HDMI vs DVI and certainly the upsampling and other audio new features.

My only decision is whether to go with a 5 ch (i.e. 755) or 3 M200's and use my present stereo power amp (Crown DC300A-II). Certainly it has the power to spare for the surrounds.

The issues with amps will be discussed elsewhere.
Good luck to all of us including Outlaw/Scott etc. We just can't wait to get our ears around this new baby.

If you look at the back panel, the 990 clearly has a phono input.

Az,

I think he's aware of that. His point is, that for him at least, having or not having a phono input is basically a non-issue. It's not really a factor in his decision as it is "irrelevant nowadays." To those with a nice collection of vinyl, this would be a big deal. For him, it's not.

I keep seeing people list it as a missing option. I realize it's not a big deal for most people. For 950 owners that have vinyl, they already have a phono preamp anyway, so I doubt anyone really cares.

But it was bugging me that people didn't know it had one.

Not to mention that are probably some 950 owners who never got around to picking up a phono preamp but want to dig their turntable and vinyl back out. Plus there are the folks who are considering the 990 as an upgrade from some older hardware that does offer a phono input and need to have such an input on their new gear.