What is the differance betwen the original 950 and the new 990?

One of the most important differences (how it sounds) remains unknown.

The features that differ are now in my pre/pro chart , but here's what the 990 adds to the 950:

• headphone jack
• phono input
• auto calibration (speaker distances, channel trim, possibly speaker crossovers)
• balanced pre-amp outputs
• 7.1 analog input instead of 5.1
• Dolby Pro Logic IIx (could be considered to replace Cirrus Extra Surround)
• Dolby Headphone
• Dolby Virtual Speaker
• DTS 96/24
• one extra component video input
• cross-conversion from s-video and composite to component video
• DVI switching (two inputs, one output)

I may have missed some stuff, but those are the high points.

Gonkster:

There are some other things to add to your list that have me begging my master for a 990 instead of some steak scraps from the dining room table:

* RS-232 and USB upgradeability
* USB connection for computer audio playback
* Lip Sync Delay compensation
* A programmable trigger in addition to the "always on when the unit is on" trigger for the amp.
* other "stuff"

Down side:

* No green button.

Nice write-up Gonk (as usual).

I'm going to pick one up based on:

headphone jack (baby coming, don't want to wake her rumbling the house)
Dolby Pro Logic IIx
Dolby Headphone
DTS 96/24
DVI Switching (I'm always behind a gen anyway)

Not exactly earth shattering but I think re-nameable inputs is a welcome addition.

Iggy - Leave it to man's best friend to cover me on the list of differences, those are some very noteworthy new features.

Absolutely. Right now my Tivo is on "VCR", and my VCR (getting a lot of use with the kids) is on "Video 2". Oh, but put the TV on "Video 2" to watch Tivo, and put it on "Video 1" to watch the VCR. My wife gets it. I think my Mom is getting the hang of it, if only because it became a matter of pure survival when babysitting (my kids are 1, 2, and 3 yrs old). But renameable inputs would make things easier. Oh, yeah, and the Squeezebox is on "CD", which sort of makes sense, I guess. But SACD's and anything not yet "ripped" goes in the DVD player...