I don't think there's any need for depression, barend. The 990's been compared to a number of processors over the last year or so. Many 990 owners had previously used Outlaw Model 950's (including myself), and found the upgrade very impressive. It's also been compared to units like Anthem's AVM20 and performed quite respectably (if I remember the thread at AVS correctly, the Anthem had a bit of an edge, but not an appreciable one). I've found the 990 to be a very pleasingly transparent unit.