Hi Ajax! 'Bout time you posted over here. Yeah, it's the guy who bought your BFD!

And I agree.....two different targets. Where the sound quality may be close or even indistinguishable from each other, the feature set will probably be the deciding factor for many, along with price. If I were in the market for a pre/pro right now, the 990 would be my first choice as I need SACD/DVD-A bass management capability. The UL would probably be closer to my budget, though it is still out of reach for me at this time.