Jester:

Are you sure you aren't confusing "EQ" with bass management? Three years ago there were NO receivers from ANYONE with automated setup and room EQ, as the processors available at the time were not capable of handling that sort of MIPS overhead. The 990 does appear to have extensive bass management capabilities per each of the FOUR speaker groups. I know for certain that NO recevier had that three years ago.

As to the value of the various automated EQ systems, yes, it would be nice to have, but according to many, the jury is still out on that.