This happens to me once in a while and I can't explain it either. To get your sound back, unplug the 990 or hit the main power button.

Including me, you are third person to post this over the past few months. I did report it to Outlaw and their solution was to update the software again. I did and didn't have a problem for a long time. But it eventually happenned again--when my son accidentally hit something on the remote. I have never been able to duplicate the problem--it always happens when something gets hit on the remote.

This sounds like Outlaw needs to look into this a little more.

I am glad that at least we are talking about just in case it happens to someone they know that their Preamp isn't dead.

I download the firmware and updated it on the Preamp. Then last night I accidentally hit the off button on my remote and I waited a second then turned it back on and when it did come back on the sound was all distorted again.

So I turned off the main power switch in the back, waited about one minute turned the preamp back on and everything worked like nothing happpend. So hopefully that helps them figure out what is going on...

odd, but glad you got it figured out.. the off button on the remote is nothing more than a stand by .. the power button as you know is on the rear of the 990. sometimes electronics need to be rebooted.. and that would mean a complete turn off.. not just in stand by. similar to restarting your computer.

For what its worth, I've had the 990 for nearly 4 months now, haven't installed the firmware and she's been running like a champ. Am I really missing something without the update?

I've got a pretty detailed run-down of the firmware update here , which includes the list below.

• SYNC adjustment on front panel: The SYNC button on the remote allows you to adjust the AV sync delay time for the active input without entering the menu. Previously, however, the adjustment only appeared on the on-screen "pop-up" display, which was only visible when watching s-video or componsite vide inputs. Now, the sync adjustment is also displayed on the front panel display, so you can adjust the sync for those component or DVI inputs.
• Editable audio input labels: Previously, only the DVD and Video 1 through Video 5 inputs could be renamed. Now, all inputs support this except for 7.1 Direct.
• Fixed front panel input selection: The 7.1 Direct input can now be selected from the front panel's INPUT button.
• Modified behavior of surround mode buttons on remote: A number of users expressed a desire to be able to see the current surround processing mode on the 990's front panel display. To accomodate this request, the three surround mode buttons on the remote (Stereo, DD, and DTS) now mimic the behavior of the "SURR MODE" button on the front panel when pressed the first time – a single key press will scroll the current surround mode across the front panel display's text box. Pressing the buttons multiple times will still cycle through the modes, as was the case previously.
• Bass management behavior corrected: Previously, bass management did not work quite as intended in some scenarios. Outlaw has gone back through the bass management and sorted all those problems out. I'll summarize the different ways in which the Model 990's bass management works in the next section.
• Dolby Pro Logic II/IIx improvements: There were some adjustments made to the software for Pro Logic II/IIx processing (affecting all applications of Pro Logic II/IIx, including Pro Logic processing on top of Dolby Digital or DTS sources).

If you aren't using one of the bass management scenarios that had problems, there are still a couple nice improvements to be had with the latest firmware. The front panel sync adjustment is definitely cool if you ever need to make sync adjustments to an input. I've liked being able to rename the CD, Aux, and Tape inputs (Aux is now Roku and Tape is now iPod in my case). The new surround mode behavior is very popular, and I've used it a number of times since it was added. Plus it's kind of cool that they were able to tweak the Pro Logic IIx performance.

For what its worth, I've had the 990 for nearly 4 months now, haven't installed the firmware and she's been running like a champ. Am I really missing something without the update?

Gonk,
This is an aside, but was just wondering:

Is there a way to or is Outlaw planning to have software that allows you to adjust the various input levels to make them consistant?

Are you talking about a way to compensate for the fact that DVD's are mastered at a significantly lower level than CD's, VHS tapes, and most TV broadcasts? I don't know of any plans to try to incorporate anything along these lines.

Yes...I know in my system different inputs do have different audio levels. It can be a minor annoyance when switching from one input to another and being jolted with higher than expected audio levels.