Well I didn't do the onkyo thing. I used my brothers Onkyo txr807 receiver in place of my 990 and just couldn't get use to the sound. Wow what a diff. I found the Onkyo overly bright and a bit bass heavy. Not horrible but not as refined as the Outlaw. I didn't run the Audyssey so I don't know if that would have made a difference, I simply used two channel stereo and the Onkyo as a preamp. I then tried a Denon Avr-3310ci as a preamp and wow it did sound a bit smoother but very similar to the onkyo. I got such a deal on the Denon from BB I may just keep it and give it to my baby sister once I get her a set of Viennas for passing the bar first try. (I'm so proud). Anyway I will wait until Jan for the 998 then I may buy the Marantz or other pre/pro that still sound great on 2 channel. I WANT MY OUTLAW !!!