I would say try out the 970 since you have it on order. It may totally fullfill your needs. Once you have it working in your system then you can make a determination as to whether or not you need "more" or "better".

You say yourself that you are not going to use the 990 for 2 channel. I would bet that in HT use only there is very little difference.

Regards,

Charlie

(A fellow obscessive)