Yes, the depth would also be a direct result of the shared platform (although the 950, which was developed from scratch as a surround processor, was only 3" shallower).

With all that space it's a pity there are no upgrade components or cards - it could accommodate them. Imagine a really high end phono preamp board that could handle low-output MC cartridges - the kind that can cost more than the 990. Right now I'm listening to Joan Baez's 41-year-old Vanguard "Noel" LP via an Audio Technica on my 45-year-old AR XA turntable plus Mayware unipivot arm and after two generations it still sounds richer than most CDs.

psyprof1,

I can hardly wait to hear your impressions on the Yaqin buffer, once Santa brings it to you, as I'm sure you've been good and deserve it.

Would it bring the analog-like sound? I truly hope so, although I cannot help thinking that such a tall order is impossible to be achieved by a buffer amp, no matter how good. Nothing could enrich sound if the richness is not there to begin with. But maybe it will simply let the detail otherwise lost in the analog stages of your CD player shine through by reducing the current draw, given its very high input impedance.

Fingers crossed...

Please let us know your findings on the Yaqin...

All the best,

Thanks for the good wishes, Alexandru, but I plan to connect the Yaqin - assuming I get it! - between the 990 and my current stereo power amp, a 20+ year old Adcom GFA535, so its benefits will apply to all audio sources, not just CDs. At least that's my hope.

Forgot to say this to you, Alex, and to all you gunslingers and desperados: whether you call the holidays Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid, or other names I'm too ignorant to know - have the best.

Wouldn't it be cool if we could arrange regional parties and meet each other face to face, maybe hear some of the setups so many of us list at the end of each message?

Okay, Alexandru and everybody else anxiously awaiting word on the Yaqin: it's now connected between the 990 and the generation-old Adcom GFA535 (they did themselves proud with that little amp), with a pair of slightly-better-than-cheapest interconnects I had lying around. I've had a couple of hours to listen to it, so far only on FM and the output from my Scientific Atlanta cable box.
Preliminary impression positive. No extra noise audible at listening distances, voices (especially male) seem to have a more "in the room" quality, and music just seems more musical, especially in the midrange. Over the next few days I'll find time for more critical listening from CDs, SACDs (front channels only, obviously), DVD-A discs (likewise), LPs, cassettes, and even some open reel tapes from previous generations.
The unit is small enough to be kind of cute, sitting on top of the Adcom on four Vibrapod feet. It would be nice if it went into bypass mode when turned off, allowing A/B testing, but I'm keeping it on to allow "burn-in" - if there is such a thing - and prevent accidental transients. The tube and power cord are what came with it and any changing will be down the road a ways, if ever.

Thank you, psyprof1.

I'm glad to hear that Santa rewarded you this year. Sometimes being good pays off

I'm looking forward to hearing more from you on the Yaqin. Let it break in (I DO believe there is such a thing) and let us, please, know your impressions on the benefits it brings when listening to CD.

Who knows, maybe you have time to hook it between a CDP and the 990, just to determine where it best fits in an audio system. Sure, between the preamp and the power amp is the place to make everything benefit from its presence, but maybe it brings more when located between a CDP and the preamp, to kick out the digital harshness.

Just a quick answer, Alex, on the Yaqin with CDs: Since my Pioneer DV578A universal player is connected to the 990 via a digital coax cable (Mapleshade Ultrathin), putting the buffer in there would require running two pairs of stereo interconnects, plus resetting the 990 of course. But I just listened to a CD that had so much digital harshness I couldn't get through it before - Eugen Jochum doing Bruckner on EMI, actually an ADD recording - and now it's quite listenable. So the Yaqin works on digital nasties even when it's connected farther down the chain.
Now if I could just learn to like Bruckner. Like Brussels sprouts I guess.

Wow. That's great news, then, psyprof1. It seems to be working.

Definitely you get the best of your DV578A using it only as a transport, as 990 has a nice sounding DAC section.

If I'll buy a Yaqin, I'll use it in my Music Hall, Cambridge Audio, Infinity Delta 30 stereo chain I use for music. I intend to replace the Cambridge, although I'll have to think twice as it sounds so nice to my ears, with a Vincent Audio hybrid preamp and a pair of Outlaw monoblocks. But I'll have to work my way into that investment first, you know, I have to "earn" it. :rolleyes:

I use the 990/7100/Axiom W2 system for HT only, which is a shame, 990 being so good, but my HT room is pretty difficult and I don't have too many options to treat it, given the design and my wife's total opposition to any aesthetic penalty in favor of sound quality.

C'est la vie, I have the other system for music, "win some lose some", cannot win them all and thank God I don't have to lose them all .

Thank you, once again, for the info on Yaqin, very helpful for me.

One more bit on the Yaqin: contrary to what I said above, it does go into bypass mode when turned off. But until I know there are no turn-on transients I'm not going to turn it on with the power amp on.
It sure makes my Magneplanars sound good though.