I had mothballed my trusty 950 3 years ago because I wanted the convenience of HDMI and a reduction in cables. Last week a lightning storm took out my Onkyo receiver. Rather than waiting for the Onkyo to be repaired, I replaced the 950 into my home theater via components, etc. When I turned on the 950 my jaw dropped. I had forgotten how good the 950 sounded and the excellent separation in Dolby Digital. Well, the heck with HDMI and lots of cables. I am going to stay with the 950 until it drops dead!
I picked up a used 950 a few months back while my EAD Ovation was being upgraded with new audiophile caps and a chip replacement. The EAD's sonics is some of the best I've heard in my system. I've auditioned many preamps/ processors over the past 20 years and none sounded better. Most didn't come close to the liquid sound from the EAD. But, the 950 was very close and in some cases, was a tad bit better. DD and DTS soundtracks had a bit more space. The bass was just a bit more refined. When I got the EAD back, I was almost tempted to stay with the 950, that's how good it sounded. But, the overall sonic quality of the EAD won out(not to mention the cost of the upgrade and repair).