You shouldn't need to go through the stereo options first. The behavior that you are seeing with the 990 suggests that the 990 is getting PCM or even analog stereo - those are the two situations where you would expect to see PLIIx and NEO:6 as the only options. What player are you using? Also, is the "PCM" indicator on the 990's front panel lighting up? (It's near the top left corner.)