Thanks, that's a good summary. It looks like the 950 has the ability to select from 9 different sources (10 if you count the built in tuner). The 970 has only 8 sources (9 with tuner), and the 990 has 10 input sources (11 with tuner). The 950 does NOT put one of the inputs on the front panel, the other two do.

Compared to my Onkyo '702 receiver the 990 is still the best upgrade (though the Onkyo is 'THX' certified to some degree which the 990 isn't). However the '702 has problems routing video (limited BW maybe) so I route video using the TV to switch (it has 4 hdmi, 2 component, and 2 standard video inputs). I suspect a handful of gainclone amps might sound better than the 702's built in power amps, which IS something I can do to improve upon it.