Quote:
Originally posted by gonk:
If the 997 follows the 990's lead in that regard, there would be no physical connection available to steer data from the DSP to that output.
Right, but I'm sure you've seen gear that allows two channels to be assigned to either surround-back OR second zone duties. We don't which way the 997 will operate, since we don't have enough info on it (or its Sherwood counterpart receiver) to do anything more than take wild guesses at this time.
Quote:
...the 990 is one of a number of processors that do exactly that with the 7.1 analog input.
And quite well too. A friend of mine used to re-digitize SACD/DVD-A through his 990, and the degradation was negligible to none when compared to pure analogue bypass. Modern A/D conversion is actually much more transparent than many folks think. The Audyssey outboard SEQ box is another good example. And, as you said, it becomes even less of a concern when limited only to the surround channels.
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Sanjay