I currently own the 990 and the Emotiva MPS-1 combo . I sit 12-33 feet from amp and never hear any fan noise . Fan noise is a non issue in my opinion . The amp drives my Rockets to any level desired with great clarity with ease .

The Emp pre/pro is an incedible performer as well . It also will drive your vinyl collection . I have owned the 990 for just a short time so I don't want to compare the two just yet . But I am very impressed with the performance of the 990 so far .

I just got a 990/7500 combo and I love it. I will be writing a review soon but I want to take the time to do it justice. I personaly don't like Sunfire processors that the DMP-1 is based on, and most people I know that have had them either had problems or returned them. If you don't think they are full of bugs I would suggest looking through all the firmware fixes on the Sunfire site, also go to audiogon and look at how many sufire processors are constantly up for sale, more then any other processor on the market. I personaly wouldn't buy anything built on a sunfire core like the DMP-1. I haven't heard the DMP-1 so I can't comment on the sound, but if you look at Gonk's Processor spread sheet you will see that the 990 and DMP-1 are pretty equal as far as features with the 990 having some the DMP-1 doesn't. I just don't have any faith in the Sunfire core engineering personaly. I would also take audioholics with a grain of salt, particulary when they gave the Sunfire processor one of the worst reviews ever, and the DMP-1 a good review, without retracting or upgrading the Sunfire review so something isn't right there.

With all due respect to DJ I would also never buy an amp that had a fan on every channel. Not because of the noise factor but because being an engineer I know what is going to fail first in a design like that. Wait 2 more years and see what happens to that MPS-1 amp, good thing it has a warrenty, because you will have channels burning and failing. Just my 2 cents.

I'm a big fan of the Rocket and Onix speakers and I feel that they are some of the best speakers regardless of price and they know their speakers. However they are also the new guy on the block when it comes to electronics (about 1 year) and I personaly feel they made some pretty poor design decisions for their electronics.

I wish you the best of luck in what ever decision you make.

Merlin

Fellas, I really appreciate your honest answers. You are really giving me some good thoughts to work from. Thank you.

drunkonjack, what amp are you using with the 990? Is it the Emotiva?

I intend the setup to be used equally for music and theater. Initially, it was primarily for theater, but the sound is utterly amazing right now while only running the M80ti pair! And I'm only using an old Denon AVR-900 (60wpc @ 8 Ohms) into the 4 Ohm speakers. I can't wait to upgrade.

Thanks again everyoen for all the great input.

Tom

On a side note, have any of you heard of any new (and worthy) digital amps out or on the horizon? I love what Axiom has done with their proprietary amp for the ep500 sub (digital w/ an analog power supply), and I believe they aren't too far away from releasing a multichannel model. I've also read a lot of rave reviews of the nuforce amplifiers. I guess what I'm getting at is I have a sneaking suspicion that the industry may be changing towards digital hybrid amps, and I'm getting in just a tad early. Ever have that feeling?

I thought the same thing 2 years ago about the industry going towards digital amps but nothing really solid has materlized in my opinion. In fact I replaced a Sony ES5000 receiver with the 990/7500 combo and the Sony had a 170w digital amp. The sound isn't even close. There has been a lot of talk and some products but so far nothing has beaten a solid state amp in my opinion. I think a good digital amp is still a few years out, but hey I could be wrong.

Merlin

Yes , I'm using the Emoyiva Big Dog amp with the 990 . And things sound great !

I still need to play around with the 990 a bit . It just has been hard to find time lately . But when I do find a little time I seem to be throwing in a movie or some music . It is sounding pretty darn good right out of the box . All I have done so far is run a auto set up with the suplied mic . I have yet to get the meter out and see how acurate it is.

But I'm enjoying it ! Maybe I can tool around with it right now

I think that digital amps will eventually achieve some pretty significant market share. (Folks like D2Audio are developing some intriguing products, although in most cases it's just the amp module for incorporation into other products.) Not surprisingly, they're starting out primarily in receivers (where the reduced heat generation is a great help since there's not room for the massive heat sinks employed by separate power amps) - Panasonic's had some really good luck with digital amps in their receiver line. Traditional solid state amps will probably be the mainstay of separate amps for a while yet, though.

drunkonjack, how do the two processors stack up with regards to ease of use? I really want my wife to not be too intimidated with the setup, especially since she was nice enough to let me put 8 speakers in our living room

Merlin and gonk, thanks for your thoughts on digital amps. I'm so intrigued with the Nuforce amplifiers. All of the reviews I've read make them out to sound nothing short of revolutionary, and many are comparing them to models that I'll never be able to afford. Unfortunately, I can't swing the cost for the Nuforce amps either. I have considered getting two of them to go along with a 7500, but that is still a drastic expense.

Also, I've recommended those Panasonic receivers to some friends that are looking at getting their first (and very inexpensive) home theater setups (based upon their reviews and cost). I'm anxious to hear them myself when the first order comes in.

Thanks again,

Tom

Tom while I can't comment on the setup of DMP-1 the 990 is a very simple setup. However I think a better question would be is how do I make the home theater easy for my wife to use?

That is where a universal remote comes in, I personaly use a Harmony 880 so all my wife has to do is push the watch DVD button and insert a DVD or push the Watch TV button and she can watch cable. The simpler you keep it for them the more they will enjoy your hobby with you.

Merlin

Actually it is DMC-1 And I would have to give the nod to the DMC-1 for ease of set up . But keep in mind the 990 is easy to set up also .

With the hard buttons on the front panel of the DMC-1 it is also easier to find the source you want to watch or listen to . This I find makes ease of use useful to some that find remotes to busy to use.

But a good remote makes thing very easy............like the 880 from Harmony .

With all that free space on the front of the 990 , That is one thing I wish it had was the individual buttons for the input you desire to use.