Hi again guys. Now I have a different question. Is there anything special I need to do between the turntable/ cd player and the 990 to get stereo sound? I have attempted to push the stereo button to direct sound to the front speakers, but this doesn't often work when running the signal through the DVD player.

Do I need to bypass the 990 to play stereo or am I missing something?

You do not need to bypass the 990. A turntable would be connected to the Phono input, and you would want to use either Stereo, Upsample, or Bypass mode (all selectable with the Stereo button on the remote). A CD player would either be connected with analog audio cables or a digital audio cable, and in either case the Stereo button should allow you to select any of the same modes. When playing a DVD's Dolby Digitla track, which may or may not be a multichannel signal, you would need to use the Dolby button to scroll through to a "Stereo" mode I believe. For Dolby 2.0 tracks, that will be the same as "Dolby Digital" mode (decoded stereo, no other processing). For Dolby 5.1 tracks, that will be a downmixed stereo signal.

I am humbled. The one and only Gonk answered my question! Thanks very much indeed! I have spent a few hours poking around your website and been spurred on to new heights (or depths, if you ask my wife) of upgradeitis by your reviews.

Cheers---

TDA