Guido congrats! Like you I figured at some point the principle of diminishing return kicks in. These Outlaw guys found their niche with the 990, a very fine unit. Hard to find negative reviews.
JT

Guido, I labored over my 990 purchase, too. I looked at used Krells and Sunfires. I thrusted and parried. And eventually realized...much thanks to this forum...that the 990 was the way to go. Yes, the 990 is a superlative unit, especially considering the cost. But, also, the helpfulness of the people at this site had much to do with my decision. I'm certain you won't regret yours.

jghim,
I cannot speak for seperates compared to receivers since I have always had seperates, but the 990 "kicked" my NAD preamp while using the same NAD amp. I have since ordered the 7500 and looking forward to the matched pair. Many others above also gave excellent reasons for seperates. YES DO IT

Thanks all. This is what I needed.

One of the things I'm concerned about now is my power and cable situation. I'm going to look into an electrician. Can't commit the money until those fundamental issues are cleared. I really hate my cable company....

No, I haven't seen that, but thanks for pointing it out to me. I am a NIN fan, but haven't listened to them in some time. What are your impressions?

I haven't heard it either, although I'm mighty tempted to pick a copy up.

Best of luck with the cable problems. What is the power situation?

I am getting unusual fluctuations while watching TV. The picture will suddenly flash in-and-out, and the TV will emit an "instantaneous," high squeal. I think it may be related to my cable or possibly my electricity. I noticed it once while watching a DVD.

Cable guy has been unhelpful so far. He checked the line, and noted that there is a line amplifier. Said there is nothing he can do, short of re-wiring. This may not be possible, as I live in a town home (attached house). Other home owners would be affected.

I don't know what my next step should be at the moment, other than check the electricity and possibly move to satellite.

I had a almost identical problem with my cable a few years back. I had the cable people out numerous times because the signal would do exactly as you describe or just cut out completely. I tried amplifiers and the such, all to no avail. Finally when I threatened to use other means (Dish/DirectTV) they sent a technician out that found the problem out at the box in our cul-de-sac. Something had chewed through the insulation on my underground run to the home.

They replaced about 2 feet of underground cable and the issue was solved. What lead to the technician checking the physical cable out at the box was when I explained that the problem was intermittant most times until it either rained or snowed, at which time I could expect the problems to occur about 95% of the time.

Not sure if my situation applies to yours,

Either way happy hunting.

We had problems (although not exactly as jghim describes) when squirrels were chewing on the cable on the side of the house, but even then it would presumably not affect DVD playback. Tricky problem to troubleshoot... You could always try a couple of power-related tests: replace the surge protector, or plug the system (particularly the TV) into a receptacle on a different circuit.

Is the picture on the TV growing smaller, "Pin cushioning"? If so this is a sign of voltage drop. The squealing is strange. I'll talk to some of the audio engineers at work and see what they come up with. Jim

No, there is no pin cushioning. But I deeply appreciate your help.

I'm genuinely amazed by the depth of knowledge and willingness to help on this forum. I have been a very long time lurker. I'm glad I decloaked and posted.