I don't know. I could not figure out what was happening. I tried different conigurations - small mains with a sub crossed at various frequencies, large fronts with a sub, large fronts without a sub, all lagre without a sub, all with different processing modes. All configurations yielded bulged exaggerated bass. Of course nothing could cure the harshness either.

It's possible that many people will actually like this kind of bass exaggeration for movies. I tried some movie DVDs, and the 990 had more what some would call "involving" sound. The special effects appeared more exciting. The Arcam was colder with movies, but I think more natural too. For example the 990 would render a simple door slam with a reassuring subwoofer thump (try slamming a door at your house, do you really hear a lot of bass?) The Arcam would make a door slam just that - a [boring] door slam.