Originally posted by gonk:
An excellent point, braidkid - my experiences were based on that system (the Rotel pre+amp, B&W speakers, HD cable box and Sony DVD player, and older Meridian CD player in somebody else's house) as compared to my system (at the time an Outlaw 950, Outlaw amps, Paradigm Reference speakers, and an assortment of source components in my den). It would be curious to swap out my 990 for the Rotel in my system to compare the two, although the two hours of re-wiring in my entertainment center that would bookend the test and the time to rip the unit out of Phil's equipment rack make that test unlikely.
My experience with the 990 has also lended itself toward a neutral/transparent nature, which I like. It's probably easiest to select for warm/bright preferences when purchasing speakers, so "colorless" electronics have always been a positive to me.
Gonk, I'd be interested to hear how the 950 stacks up against the 990 strictly from a performance, and not features, standpoint.
How it compares with analog by pass for SACD and with digital inputs for DD, DTS, etc.