Given the age of the 990 (and 970), are the anticipated processors/recievers replacements as opposed to new products altogether? It would seem that these products have outlived thier intended lifespan but new products were not available due to a delay from Cirrus Logic. Many competitors have released details of thier up coming products including S.N. S.N. has indicated a different room correction device than Audessy. Integra has released details. Denon released their details months ago about the 09 series. These outfits have even released product brochures.
When looking at what SN is intending on releasing and comparing it to the 990/970, these are completely different products in terms of connectivity, user interface, decoding etc. It wouuld seem that by not releasing details, the customer base may be decreasing.