Don't be embarrased..I had the exact same reaction when I tried to turn my 990 on for the first time with the power button on the remote. That's kind of the intuitive thing to try. It's just not the way the 990 remote works.
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Main system:
Integra dhc 9.9
Threshold SA/4e pure class A
Emotiva XPA-1 (2), XPA-5
(2) Threshold S200's
Thiel 3.6 main speakers
(2)Velodyne F1500r subs
Polk RTI28 surrounds
B&W HTM center
OPPO BDP-83 universal player
Samsung HLT6187 led DLP