I am a happy 990/7125 owner. I saw Outlaws new 970 and I'm wondering what the 990 does that the 970 can't. I'm very happy with my pre but the 970 seems like a great deal.

The 990's component and DVI inputs are assignable; the 970's component and DVI inputs are permanently assigned to specific inputs. The 990's video input labels can be edited (so "Video1" becomes "Cable"). The 990 apparently has beefier DAC's, which will likely help on two-channel listening. The 990 has a phono input, auto-setup (channel distances, levels, and speaker sizes; no EQ), an independent second zone, upsampling of stereo sources, USB input, two-way control through the RS-232 port (970's RS-232 port is apparently solely there for firmware updates), balanced pre-amp outputs, and a couple extra inputs. It also comes in a much larger chassis, of course, which could be considered a benefit for the 970. The 970 also has the updated version of the 950's analog bass management switch for the 7.1 direct input (allowing full bypass, analog 80Hz crossover, or digital bass management); the 990 doesn't offer that.

So for home theater would they sound equivalent? It looks like they both have 192 kHz 24-bit DAC's for all channels and the same Crystal processor. I don't have any records, nor do I need second zone or balanced outs. Plus it would allow me to save a little extra and put it toward the 7125 or sms-1. Essentially I'm trying figuring out if the 990 and 970 would sound equivalent for HT. It will help once some people post some more reviews and perhaps comparisons.

-Asim

At this point it's pretty hard to say how the two match up for home theater duty. Once we start to get feedback from some 970 users that should change.

I will be able to tell you if they sound any different if the FedEx guy ever gets here today with the 970. Tracking tells me it's on the truck for delivery.

Just got the 970 set up. I can tell you the 990 does plenty that the 970 does not! More to follow, but I can tell you the 990 excceded my expectations in every way, while the 970 simply did not.